The Whipping Boy
by Cryztalline
Summary: Prince Blaine wants nothing more than a normal life away from all the duties that his royal title bestows him with. Could hope be embodied in the form of the handsome whipping boy his parents deemed as necessary for him to become a better ruler? *Medieval AU. *In-progress.
1. Prince Devon of Dalton

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I really wanted to make another chapter for Showgirl before I wrote this but I just needed to get this one out of my head, when I have what I consider a good idea and let it rest it always decays and turns out not being great so now I'll have to juggle with two stories at the same time but it will be worth it. **

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

People always think that the life for members of the royal family is easier, specially if you're the prince, a title that not only gives you a renewed status among the masses but also means you don't have the burden or full responsibilities that the king or queen do. You want my take on it? It sucks, big time.

The "official" way other nobles should refer to me and during royal events or important galas is "Prince Devon of Dalton", and I despise that title. While it's true that I'm the prince of the kingdom of Dalton as well as my second name being Devon I don't like neither of them separately and when combined the sound of it makes it a lot more cringe worthy, at least for me.

Few people actually refer me by my first name, the one I actually like, Blaine. The reason my first name gets overshadowed by my second one is because it belonged to my grandfather, King Devon of Dalton. He did many incredible deeds and the citizens of Dalton loved and admired him dearly. Ever since he passed away and my father took over things haven't changed much but he has my grandfather's legacy on his shoulders and I know it's a whole lot of pressure for him. Thing is, I carry his name and to be honest, everyone has high expectations of me due to it and I don't want all that pressure on me and, even if I wouldn't dare say it out loud, I don't really want to be king either.

I've always felt as if I'm the black sheep of the Anderson linage, one that has held many important, powerful and wise men through each generation. While many of my ancestors have ruled this land before, none of them have ever been described as being like me. While my brother Cooper was the pride and joy of my family, ever since he was killed in combat during a munity on the castle, all responsibilities that where supposed to go to him have been carried on to me. Maybe the real reason I don't want to be king is because I know I won't be able to be as great a king as Cooper was destined to be.

Another reason as to I feel like the black sheep of the family is because, while he was alive, Cooper gave me that nickname. The reason being that I was born with dark, unruly curls, which as something people associated with bad luck. Not a single person in my family had hair as wild as mine and to an extent it made them embarrassed and that got to me at a pretty early age. While Cooper always had his flowing brown locks, I had to get mine cut short. Until recently that was my life, Cooper was the good looking guy everyone looked up to while I was the scared kid with the bad haircut, but some of the best alchemists my father could find where able to find a way to get rid of the curls, at least momentarily. A sticky substance they found on the bark of trees was strong enough to hold the hair in place prolonged amounts of times when applied, and ever since I've been using this so called "gel" to conceal the curls on a daily basis.

Another aspect of my life that gets a lot of bad responses from my family is the fact that music, singing and dancing have been my passion for as long as I can remember. While the royal family has always been fond of these activities in the past, no one has actually performed them. When my father, the king, first found me singing on my room a few years ago, he flipped out. He told me singing, dancing and other art related practices were done purely for entertainment purposes and that no one on the royal family would serve as entertainment for other people. He said that peasants and buffoons where the ones who did those kind of stuff.

I know, pretty depressing right? Well it gets worse. While I'm one of the few privileged people to get an education at the Dalton Academy, which is where all the sons of the nobles and wealthy people of Dalton go, I'm not comfortable being there at all. While most guys there are nice and friendly towards me, some others want to make my life a living hell. One of them being Hunter Clarington, that guy's son of one of the most important noblemen in Dalton but he mocks me on a daily basis over the fact that I'm not proper king material, which I don't find offensive at all because I know I'm not and I wouldn't really want to but he always throws the Cooper card at me. If there's something I can't take is being compared to Cooper and he knows it. I think he secretly wants to become king but I would rather become king myself than let that guy take power over Dalton.

Another annoyance at Dalton is Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian is son of a wealthy merchant and he knows it. In a way I'm grateful to him for helping me find myself in a more… intimate way but to be honest he's really just as nasty as Hunter. During my second year at the Dalton Academy, Sebastian confessed to me that he felt an attraction towards me, I myself had never thought about liking other guys but looking back it was always there. The idea of getting a wife always seemed like something pointless to me, specially considering I never felt attracted to any of the suitors my mother picked, which where actually really beautiful girls but none of them really "pleased" me. Going back to Sebastian, I never saw him as more than just cute looking and once he confessed his attraction towards me, and while flattered, I declined. Ever since that day he's been really snarky and bitchy toward me, and takes any chance he can to humiliate me, which sadly happens rather often.

That being said, I really couldn't care less about being the laughing stock of the whole academy. What really got to me, once again, where the daily comparisons with Cooper that Hunter shot at me. I asked my father on letting me train with the royal guard to get better at self-defense in case it was needed and, while hesitant at first, after remembering what happened to Cooper my father agreed. I've been training for a few months now and, while I doubt I'll ever get as buff as Hunter any time soon, I've gained enough muscle to hold my own, which actually came in handy as of recently.

A regular day, Hunter was once again saying how I was a disappointment to my grandfather's name and legacy and to Cooper as a brother which I had about enough off. Without even thinking I lunged at him and we had a fight in the middle of the class. Our tutor reported this to both our families and once my father knew about it, he persuaded my mother to get me a whipping boy, someone who I could grow attached to, kind of like a friend, who would get punished instead of me for everything I did wrong. I knew some boys at the academy had whipping boys but I always found that method to be rather brutal. Seeing someone getting punished for someone else's fault was something I could not bear but apparently that was the purpose behind the whipping boys.

My father sent some scouts to the village of McKinley, a small town at the outskirts of Dalton, in search for one. From what I've heard, McKinley wasn't as wealthy as Dalton in any way but my mother always had scouts bring people from there to Dalton to work as servants or maids to the royal family because she knew people there needed the money we could provide their families in exchange of their services, which would be the case for the guy the scouts deemed worthy for being my whipping boy. In a way it was a good method to help out the needed but it also separated families and in this case, would have someone suffer for all of my mistakes, which isn't really fair.

Today was the day the scouts would arrive with the whipping boy. I really didn't want it to happen, especially since we where practically separating a young man from his family just to teach me a lesson. Ironically, time passed by in a rather quickly manner and in what seemed like a couple of minutes, which were actually hours, the scouts had arrived.

"Master Devon? Your father is requesting your presence in the foyer."

"Thanks for letting me know Stephanie, I appreciate it. I'll be there in a second."

While most people would typically thing that the royal family would be quite snobbish, I tried to be as kind to the maids and servants and treated them as equals. They where persons just as me, why would a simple title that I did nothing to earn make me superior to them? Besides this people had sacrificed a lot to be here, it was only fair. Same thing would happen with whomever the persons picked to be my whipping boy; we would be equals no matter what. As I walked into the foyer I noticed the scouts where all waiting for my arrival and both my parents where sitting on their thrones waiting as well.

"Son, we where expecting you. The royal scouts found the person who will be your companion and whipping boy for the remainder of your time as a prince." My father said in the typical serious tone he used whenever he announced something. My mother was just smiling, as if she hoped it would make the situation less awkward for me. "Now scouts, present to us the person you chose."

"It's our honor to present to you, the royal family, the best candidate the village of McKinley had to offer to serve Prince Devon of Dalton.." Damn it, there's that stupid title again. "… as his loyal companion as well as whipping boy. Come on forth Samuel from the house of Evans."

The scouts all made way to this so-called "Samuel from the house of Evans" guy they announced. It always bewildered me how imposing the scouts made everyone's name sound. What appeared in front of me wasn't something I actually expected to see, and honestly I could describe him completely with only one word.

_Beautiful_.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: So here it is what you get when I listen to Pearl's version of the title track of the NeverEnding Story soundtrack in a loop, hope you liked the first chapter to this new story I had brewing for you all. I haven't really dwelled into the fantasy/medieval portion of writing much so I'm fairly new to it but I do hope to please at least a large portion of you with this and honestly its was really fun to write, specially adapting some canon stuff in medieval format. Hope I was able to pave enough ground with it as well. Next chapter will have enough Blam interactions to make up for the lack in this chapter. Reviews are love, and I certainly want to know what you people thought of this, since it's a far cry from what I normally write, at least thematically. Finally, thanks to my awesome beta!**


	2. The Whipping Boy

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**Same excuse as on the last chapter, I had the idea and didn't want it to fade away. Anyways, enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

I'm pretty sure I can easily describe this guy with one word, but I rather not. I don't know if it's the smug look on his face or the evident superiority complex he has but this so-called "prince" makes me want to shout every curse word know to men directly to his face rather than just one, but I'd rather not, I like having my head attached to my body.

I really never planned to have my life go down to the dogs like this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Once every year, the Dalton royal guards come to McKinley in search for people to take with them to work on miserable low-paying jobs. What really ticks me off is that these people actually think they are benefiting us by doing so.

On previous years, Dalton always picked the strongest men or the women with more endurance on the village, but recently they've been searching for people with the same qualities as before but on a different age range. Apparently they wanted their "workers" to last longer so they've been looking for teenagers, the best the village can offer.

I don't really consider myself the greatest McKinley has to offer, which is obvious given the task they've assigned on to me. Being the son of a miller was never something that would get me far away but I never particularly cared, why should I rely on my parent's achievements to make a name for myself? Unlike this dark haired brat I'll be forced to spend the rest of my days with, I actually planned on working hard to achieve something.

I always dreamt of becoming a knight, those guy's are the heroes everyone talks about and admires, but sadly just a selected few got the honor to serve as one. My mother always said I would pretend to be a knight as a kid and both my parents supported my decision to become one but as the years went by the dream just became a simple fantasy.

I was blessed with two younger siblings, which I hold a special place in my heart for, but with more children comes more responsibilities. I had to work my ass off to help my father run the mill while my mother took care of the kids so I had to assume a more mature role for my age, which is something I hate. While everyone had their fair share of fun I always had to help keep the mill in shape.

As the years of managing the mill, carrying the heavy merchandise and helping my father with the work that was too much for him to handle due to age, worked like any training the knights got. I actually felt all the strength and endurance gained from it were going to waste; I could easily request an audition to the royal guard to become a knight but it simply wasn't meant to be. I never had the heart to leave my family, especially after the struggles with money we had been having lately.

But it all changed once they came, the minute the royal guard came to my door I was exhilarated. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined they would come to my door and ask for me, well maybe in one or two dreams, but still. They claimed that word around town said that I was one of the strongest and youngest guys McKinley had to offer; it all was just too good to be true. Then the bad news came, they said that they where looking for a strong, lasting and pain enduring young man to be the prince's whipping boy. I never really understood what exactly whipping boys where needed for but I was aware of the concept, they where basically the prince's bitch.

My parents quickly declined, no matter how much the guards said that it was one of the greatest honors anyone could aspire to my parents just didn't bought it. Then the deceiving and manipulations began. They said they would pay highly for my services and that poverty wasn't going to be a problem for my family anymore. While a caught off guard for a moment, my parents still declined. I always knew I was one of, if not _the_ luckiest person in McKinley. Even when the times got rough and I got caught in bad situations, my parents always showed support and love towards me and as much as it pained me, this was the time to pay them back.

Before the royal guards left I said I accepted but only if they promised not to bother my family again. They accepted, and as much as my mother held on to me and tried to keep the guards from taking me with them I had to let them go. I swear, the image of seeing my siblings crying while the guards took me with them will haunt me for the rest of my days. As much as I know this decision would help Stevie and Stacy get food on the table for the rest of their days, I know I did the worst crime of all time. I destroyed my family.

"He seems in really good shape and I'm sure he will be more than capable of performing the duties bestowed to him as Prince Devon's whipping boy." The lady, who I believe is the queen, said as the royal guards kneeled. I never knew the royal protocols that had to be followed when facing a member of the royal family but I knew what happened to those who didn't follow them so I just did as they did. "Oh and look, he has manners as well! I have a good feeling about him already. Get up boy. You'll accompany the prince to his chamber, meanwhile I'll get the maids get you some clothes for you to change into."

Nodding seemed like the best option, as much as I loathed everything that was going on just going along with everyone was the wisest decision. Now I'll just need to keep my urges to kill my "companion" for the rest of my stay on the castle.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

I had never felt so nervous in my entire life. I walking along with a guy people would only dream off was indeed very intimidating. The fact that his expression seemed rather stern just made thing a lot scarier. Still there was something about him that made me feel warm inside. It was probably his exterior, though. His eyes where bright and lucid, they had practically craved in two gemstones in them. His golden hair, while shaggy and messy, still looked soft, fluffy and perfect. His body was something made out of legend, while most of the time people would say that those who lived in the poverty of McKinley would be just flesh and bones, he had a body that would put most of the royal knights to shame. Lastly one, the feature I found the most distinctive where his rosy lips, they where a tad to big but I couldn't figure another way they be to make his face look as breathtaking as it was.

The walk to my room completely silent, apart from the sound of our steps on the stone floors of the castle, once on the room things didn't change for the first few minutes and I figured that starting a conversation would be better than having him sitting and staring at the floor while I stood in the middle of my room like a fool.

"So, Samuel was it?"

If looks could kill I would be, well not dead, but seriously wounded. Either he was still scared as was uncomfortable about the early talk or he just plain hated me. "Yeah… it is."

At least I was able to get a word out of him. From the look he gave I expected him to stab me several times. Small talk now seemed almost impossible but I'm not one to give up easily.

"I'm… well I don't know what a proper way to say it would be but I'm sorry for making things so difficult for you."

The response was now a raised eyebrow from his part, at least it was better than another hostile look, I had his attention now. "Umm… thanks? Look, I really don't feel like talking right now so if you wouldn't mind…"

"I understand but if we're going to spend time together we could at least know why you dislike me so much. I mean, I think I get why you're angry but evading it won't help."

Now I had done it, he stood up from the chair and now was looking more annoyed than angry but it still wasn't the result I expected to get. "If you really knew why I was angry I doubt I wouldn't be here in the first place! Now please stop asking questions."

"It's not as if it was my choice either. Do you think I actually enjoy having the responsibility of a person's wellbeing in my hands? If I could I would have my parents let you go but this isn't in my power." There I said it, and getting it out for once was quite relieving, to say the least.

"Then why get me in the first place?" Good lord, he's quite the stubborn one.

"Because… because I'm a fool and I lost control, that's why. I'm just like that; I always get others in trouble and it's all because of this stupid title I was born with. I've never done anything to deserve this curse that is being a prince but one can't really decide what they're born with."

I'm not the kind of person to open up to anyone, specially some stranger I've barely know, this quickly but I don't know if it's the fact that he make me nervous for no real reason or the way he looks at me with wrath but something about him demanded answers and I really can't deny him some, specially after all the crap that he's probably been through to get here.

The look on Samuel's face was now a lot different; it was as if I had hit a vulnerable spot on him. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you feel bad about yourself. I understand what you mean, sometimes we are stuck with something we don't want to do."

"Just like we both are right now, right?" I must admit that every time I'm stuck in an awkward situation I can't help but joke about it, I always find it eases the tension. Luckily I notice Samuel appreciated the slight humor in my comment; his smile was quite dazzling which didn't really surprise me at all to be honest.

"Yeah I suppose. One never plans to become someone's whipping boy. At least I'm glad I'm the prince's whipping boy rather than any other noble's. At least the title sounds a lot better." I'm pretty sure Samuel is just as pleasant a person as he is to my eyes and having him feel comfortable was quite rewarding, even if it was just for a small amount of time.

"No need for formalities, no matter what stupid role my parents want you to play I just want you to be Samuel. No need to change anything about yourself only because of me, a title doesn't make me any better than you. I just want you to remind you that for as long as this has to drag on."

Once again my words made Samuel's face to sprout a smile. I could get use to those perfect smiles of his.

"Hey, it's not as if I would change for anyone on the first place but I still appreciate it. By the way… it's Sam. I've never liked Samuel, it sounds way to serious."

"Alright, Sam it is."

"Also, if you can't tell, I'm kind of new to this whole royalty aspect so would you prefer me calling you Prince Devon or just Prince? Whichever helps me keep my tongue from being sliced by a guard is fine by me."

"Actually you can call me Blaine. It's less pompous and I've always liked it better." I really can't believe how much personal information I've told Samue… Sam already. Even if he'll be the person who I'll spend most time with from now on I never imagined I would let whomever was to carry the whipping boy task to know my first name in less than maybe a couple of months, let alone just a few minutes from knowing him.

"Blaine, huh? Where did that name come from?"

"That's actually my first name. Devon often overshadows it, though."

While not a smile, I managed to get a grin out of Sam, which is just as good. "Well that's a shame, it's a really nice name if you ask me. Not that Devon isn't but Blaine seems to fit you a lot more if you ask me."

"Thanks, I don't want to make you feel pressured but I would just keep it as Prince when the guards are close. They tend to get pretty touchy about it but apart from that you can call me Blaine whenever you want. You're actually one of the very few persons who know about it anyways."

"I must be lucky then. Besides, I doubt I would have copped calling you Prince Devon for much. Prince Blaine sounds a lot better, it gives it a more regal and beautiful sound, which fits with you I suppo-"

Did he just call me beautiful? I really don't have control of my facial expressions but I'm pretty sure I couldn't hide the surprise from hearing that and he obviously saw me, he stopped himself from finishing that sentence.

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

Damn it! "Beautiful", did I just really call the Prince beautiful? Maybe getting my tongue sliced won't be such a bad idea. I'll admit, even if I wanted to kill him without a second thought a few minutes ago, I found that the Prince was actually pretty attractive, which is to be expected of royals, right?

Something I realized while still young of age was that I never felt any sort of attraction towards women. I think it all comes down to my first and only "girlfriend", Quinn. Well that wasn't her real name; she always aspired to become princess because to be honest, it's every girl's dream to be a princess, even my little sister Stacy wants to be one. Well the point is, Quinn, or rather Lucy, always liked me, even before I beefed up with the whole windmill work. She wasn't exceptionally pretty but she was a really sweet girl and I liked her a lot as a person so I decided to play along and we where boyfriend and girlfriend for a few days. It all came to an end when she kissed me, while she told me she felt like she was in the clouds; I told her I didn't find it that exiting. She misunderstood it and thought I said that because she wasn't pretty and she left me. Poor girl cried her heart out for days and days and I've always felt guilty for that.

A few years later she reappeared in my life and she was a whole different person, physically at least. All the boys where after her and rumor had it that her family made a deal with a witch to use a spell on her to make her the prettiest girl in the village. She tried to seduce me out of spite and that's when I realized I never really fell for her, not because she wasn't pretty, but because she wasn't a boy, once I told her she was a bit shocked but we've been the closest of friends ever since. How did I realize this, though? Well, there was this boy, Noah, who I was friends with and I always knew I had this tingling feeling when around him. Later I realized my attraction towards him was merely physical, the guy was as bright as a rock but oh so good looking; it was then that I realize I preferred boys.

Point being, I like guys, yes, but I can't like the Prince. First off, I barely know him. I mean he has proven to not be the huge idiot I thought he was going to be but still I don't know much about his personality. Second, he's a prince. Princes can't fall in love with other guys; they always marry beautiful maidens and rule for long periods of time with their queen. Finally, I doubt he likes guys. His expression right now just proved my use of the word beautiful crept him out.

"I'm sorry Blaine! I didn't mean to say it _that_ way. I just like your name, that's all."

That seemed about good enough because he now seemed a bit less surprised. Maybe a bit down but I can imagine how a comment like that can catch him off guard. I just hope my mouth doesn't get me in trouble with him.

"Don't worry Sam. I just-"

The knock on the door kept Blaine from finishing. The voice from outside was off course that of a maid, possibly the one that the queen sent to get my new clothes.

"I'll go get the door, you stay here Sam."

As soon as he opened the door three maids rushed inside and began undressing me. I couldn't help but notice that Blaine quickly turned around, if that wasn't a sign that he wasn't interested in men than I don't know what would be. Not that I would peek either but still.

"Would you like to decide which clothes your companion should wear, my lord?" The maids really seemed to respect Blaine.

"Let him decide, but still thanks for asking Melody." I can see it now; Blaine wasn't just being nice to me due to convenience purposes. He was genuinely nice to his servants as well, that or he was a really good actor.

"Take this sir, we'll show you the way to the dressing room." Just as she finished, the maid handed me a white sheet of fabric to cover my lower body. I just followed them down the halls while Blaine obviously stayed on his room waiting.

While not completely enthusiastic about the idea, I suppose a change of wardrobe won't hurt. I'll assume that the clothes will be comfortable, they are the best money can buy and if there's something this place isn't lacking is money. While I'm not planning to, I suppose I could try to get used to this lifestyle.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: Not much to say other than thanks to my awesome beta and all of you who showed support for this fic, a special shout out to TheBlamBromance who's review I saw in my e-mail but wasn't posted on the site for some reason. I suppose I kind of lied by saying a Blam moment would happen (at least romantically wise) but still, interactions between them happened so I hope it fuels your needs, at least for now. Next chapter will continue with Sam and Blaine both adapting to each other's company and hopefully after that one we'll see their first day at the Dalton Academy as well as presenting the main problem they'll have to face. Again it was a lot of fun adapting things into the medieval theme the story has, I've been debating about having magic being a thing in the story, I included a hint of it in the Quinn portion but mostly because it was the only way I could come up with to explain cosmetic surgery. I'm sorry if things are going slow but I want to build up as much character and tension as possible so bear with me.**

**Hope you're liking it and thanks again to everyone!**


	3. Changes

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I find it so wrong that I've neglected Showgirl so much but the ideas for this one have practically written themselves and I don't want them to escape my mind, so without more to say, here's another chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

I'll admit it; I'm not one to bother about what other people think about me. Why should I? Just like Sam told me earlier today, even if we didn't get along I wasn't going to change my personality just to please him, but hearing him complement me really felt amazing. At least it made me feel less pitiful about mentally gushing over him earlier. Seeing how we got along, even if it's not meant to be the closest of friendships, or even a friendship at all, still makes me feel sure that things will remain fine without much awkwardness between us.

Still there was something about what he said that made me feel horrible. He honestly confessed that he disliked being here, which would add to the things that we both have in common. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate that I was born in a life of wealth but I still dislike the fact that I'm tied to a future I want to avoid at all costs and all just because of the stupid title I was born with. Prince. Worst of all was that I dragged Sam into this whole mess and now I can't get him out of it.

Sure, he'll get some nice clothes and extravagant food but I saw the pain in his eyes when we first met. He had a family back at the village, a family that my foolish actions destroyed and now he's stuck with me, waiting for the day I make a stupid mistake like I always do and get punished for it. That's the worst fate I could imagine and now it's fallen on to him.

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

This is the best lifestyle I could ever imagine and now it's fallen on to me, yet why does it feel like an empty victory? Never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself having servants bringing me clothes made of the softest fabrics or being referred to by an important title but here I am but I'm still not enjoying it.

I figure that not being with my family could play a part in it. They're still at McKinley and even if they have enough resources and money to live the life they dreamt about for years, I still don't feel worthy of being the one in the castle with the servants attending my every need.

After a few minutes I decided on a dark green outfit with some complementing brown accents in it. If I was to use this clothes the best I could do was use those of colors I enjoyed. Back home clothes limited themselves to a simple white shirt, baggy pants and when it got cold, a brown vest to keep myself warm. Here I had a wide variety to choose from but I refrained myself from picking the fancier clothes. Just a shirt, vest, pants and boots since it reminded me of what I would wear back home, but even if those where the simplest of clothes they still looked quite elegant which was not what I was going for but judging by the enormous dressing room I was standing in I doubt that anything would look less exuberant than what I was wearing.

"Are you satisfied by your outfit, sir?"

A peak in the mirrors where enough for me to unwillingly smile, while not vain in any way I couldn't help but admire the regal air that the clothes gave me. "I am, thank you all for your help."

"It's our pleasure. Now follow us back on to the Prince Devon's chamber."

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

There was another knock at the door, which I knew were the maids with Sam. I won't deny that the idea of seeing Sam in one of the many outfits that the castle had to offer did actually excite me but I was also concerned. He said he didn't want to stay at the castle, changing his appearance would just alienate him more from his roots. What greeted me at the door though, was a beacon of relief, a quite charming one at that.

"So? What do you think?"

"It looks amazing, the green really suits you."

The smile in Sam's face couldn't be wider than how it already was and for the first time since our first meeting I saw true joy in his eyes. All the glee in Sam's eyes could only compare to that of a kid with new toys. The perfection of the moment soon got interrupted by one of the maids though. Apparently there where still things to be done.

"My lord, we're glad you approve of master Samuel's outfit but your mother gave us specific orders to pamper and get him ready for dinner tonight as well as to teach him the basic table manners. So if you'll excuse us now…"

"Wait! Would you give me a minute to talk to him first?"

Even if I didn't need to ask for permission to do so, I still did it to appear as civil with the maids as possible. Sam walked towards me and his smile had been replaced with a clueless expression.

"Is something wrong, Blaine?"

"I just wanted to check on you. Are you sure you want to go through all of this? I could easily teach you table manners myself so you wouldn't have to go through this if you don't want to."

Sam chuckled my suggestion off. Apparently he wasn't having the horrible time I imagined he was going through. "Don't worry about it Blaine, it's not as bad as I thought it was. Besides, those are the queen's orders. Are you sure going against them would be a wise choice?"

Sam was right; the only person who could touch me was my father. I couldn't risk Sam's wellbeing by having him do what I said. Besides, they said they where going to pamper him and take care of him, nothing could go wrong with that and Sam seemed pretty happy as well so there was really no need to argue about it.

"Fine, you're right. Still, if something makes you feel uncomfortable just let me know and I'll-"

"Hey, calm down. You worry too much, I'll be fine." Sam's mellow tone was quite relaxing and in a way made me feel less tense about it. He turned around and walked his way towards the maids. "I'll see you when dinner comes."

I never imagined a peasant would be one to give me such a big wake-up call. I did worry too much. Maybe that's the reason I make so much stupid mistakes, I can't keep my mind from thinking about things that really shouldn't matter much. I'll do as he said and just relax, what's the worse that could happen?

I-oOo-I

It was already a tad bit late when the maids took Sam away and dusk followed closely. I was always told by a servant to make my way to the table a few minutes before dinner was actually served and for the first time in months I appreciated it. I could see how much Sam advanced in his first day at the castle but I was less than eager to see my parent's reactions towards him.

While my mother was quite the patient woman when it came to people, especially those who came from other places as part of the servitude. My father was less forgiving though, he would take note of even the slightest of mistakes Sam made and while not directly, and he would take any chance he had to highlight it. He did this to me a lot, as a matter of fact he still does. He claims it helps me realize my mistakes so that I won't make them again in the future but all that it does it make me feel bad about myself.

"Lord and lady Anderson, I request your complete and total attention." The voice I heard was not what I expected to hear. As much as I wanted to follow Sam's advice, that woman just made it impossible for me to feel relaxed. "The whipping boy is about to make his arrival. I just want you all to know that I'll take no responsibility about any mistake or damage that boy causes. With the short amount of time I had to work with him it would be a miracle if the savage knows the difference between the spoon and the fork."

"We appreciate the effort Susan. We'll take care of everything form here and onwards." My father said as he dismissed her out of the room.

Susan Sylvester was the first attempt at education my fathers ever got me. They hired her because her fame precedes her; she's the most sought after governess in the land. Manners, posture, speech, eloquence, as well as other important forms of etiquette are just some of the many things she teaches. While vastly talented and good at her craft, she's also very short-tempered and quite ruthless. She's also the only person I've ever seen talk in a superior tone to my parents without facing execution as a punishment for it. While she's not as prominent in my life now that I'm at the Dalton Academy, she's still working at the castle and from time to time gives me a few lessons my parents deem as necessary.

I've always hated her and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. While she doesn't get physical with someone when made angry, she unleashes her wrath verbally and that happened a lot between us. Even if my father is the only one who can physically punish me, Susan is the one person who's words have made me come close to tears. Worst thing is that she finds pleasure on making people feel miserable.

All that rambling made me forget the main event of the evening, which was Sam. In a matter of second there he was standing in the stairs above the dinning hall. He looked as radiant as ever yet so different. His long shaggy hair was no more, instead he his golden tresses had been shorn into a slightly shorter length but yet it helped showcase his beautiful face. Most of the remaining dirt in his face was now gone and his perfectly rosy skin was visible without obstruction. Finally he walked with an almost perfect posture towards the dinning table. If I hadn't known him beforehand I could have easily mistaken him for a prince. Without looking around he took a seat besides me, which just made everything better.

"The maids did a splendid job. You could pass as one of the nobles that attend Prince Devon's academy!" My mother was always the one to throw the first compliment, which in this case seemed to please Sam.

"I'm glad you're pleased by the results, your highness. The maids really did their best." Now I didn't expect that. Sam was talking quite properly, not a surprise since Susan was the one who trained him but still, quite an achievement for his first day.

"Indeed. It's really rare for me to say this but I like what I'm seeing already. You might have a future here, boy." Well, scratch what I said before, this is something I never imagined would happen. My father was actually complementing Sam? He never went easy on anyone! I suppose Sam's natural charm was more than enough to gain him both of my parent's approval. "Aren't you going to say something to him, son?"

"Oh… I'm sorry, yes I do." My father rolled his eyes, he always did that whenever I messed up something and no matter how much times he did it, it always irritated me. "You look fantastic Samuel, I'm really grateful that you found the royal environment suitable for you and I can't wait for us to spend more time together."

Sam gave me that hear melting smile yet again and this time I realized I was smiling like a fool at his direction.

"Come now, son. Save some of that energy for when your suitors arrive, at this rate you'll end up courting your own whipping boy rather than any of the maidens we bring to you." I knew my father was messing around with me but I found that comment highly offensive. Something I've never revealed to my parents is the fact that, as I said before, like boys rather than girls. Yet the idea of it frightens me, my father clearly doesn't think highly of me and the fact that I wouldn't be able to give him grandsons would just kill my chances at gaining his approval. While I said that I didn't care for anyone's approval I lied, I do care for my father's approval. Cooper always had it, no matter how much he denies it Cooper was always his favorite. "Now, if there's nothing else to be said, lets proceed and start our banquet."

While slightly annoyed and insulted, I still managed to make an appetite for a few dishes of food. Sam on the other hand was terminating the dishes quicker than I could breath. Sam must had have struggles with food back on his hometown, I'm just glad those days are over for him.

"Someone's quite hungry! Would you like another round of food, dear?"

"If it wouldn't be much of a problem, your highness."

"You heard the boy! Bring on forth the desserts!" As my mother gave out the order, the cooks quickly arrived with some baked good with a fruity scent.

As the rest of the dinner went by, Sam ate three pies and one slice of cake before finally getting full. By that time I had barely eaten a truffle but seeing Sam satisfied was more than enough of a reward.

"Okay, both of you. Tomorrow you'll have your first day at the Dalton Academy so I would suggest you go to sleep as soon as possible." My mother said while both Sam and I nodded.

We got up our chairs and left to my room. The walk back was a lot different from the one we had taken a couple of hours ago. The hostility had vanished and we had a small conversation before arriving to my room.

"Mate, your life's amazing! How can someone grow tired of all of this?" Sam asked while I just shook my head while still managing to grin.

"It gets old pretty quickly. How did your small manners class go?" I was really in need to hear how Susan treated Sam. He gave a pretty amazing performance on the dinning table but that worried me that she had left a psychological scar on him.

"It went by pretty fast but that Sue lady is… mean to say the least. As soon as she saw me she threw insults as if she was getting paid for it."

"Yeah she's brutal but I'll try to keep her out of her way. Nice haircut by the way, I'll admit that the long "country boy" look was growing on me but with this one you'll fit in perfectly on the academy." Sam ran his hand through his golden hair as he chuckled and gave me that irresistible smile of his.

"Thanks, I like it actually. The only reason I kept it long was because my mother used to give me this horrible hair cut using a wooden bowl as a guide and I rather had it long that silly looking."

"Well it certainly looks good on you." The conversation was running dry again and a few minutes of awkward silence followed. Still, his beautiful smile remained on his face.

"So… I don't see another bed around here. Does this mean that we'll… you know… share one?"

Damn it, he's right. How could I never notice that before? "Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Well… while not what I had in mind-"

"Oh, no don't worry. I was just saying that as a suggestion-"

"Wait, you want us to share the bed?"

"I didn't mean it like that, you know I was just saying…"

"Wow, that was rude of my part. I mean, while not the most conventional of ideas I suppose we could share the bed-"

"No! I mean, look Blaine I don't want you to make you feel uncomfortable. I just suggested that because I didn't consider another option. I could always sleep on the floor."

"Stop right there, no guest of mine will be sleeping on the floor. I'm fine with sharing the bed, it's big enough for both of us." To be honest I was never against the idea but I thought it would scare him if I suggested it. Besides, the idea of Sam sleeping on the cold stone floor broke my heart.

"Are you sure? Because if you want I wouldn't really mind-"

"Hey, I said we would share it. Now go get changed, I'll get the bed ready." And as he left to get some sleepwear I began arranging the bed to leave enough space between us to keep thing from getting too "intimate". While I'm pretty sure my parents would cause an uproar if they saw the whipping boy sleeping on the same bed as the prince it was their fault for not getting Sam a bed of his own. Besides, the bed had its own set of drapes, which I could use in my favor.

A few minutes later, Sam arrived wearing the typical sleepwear I would use while sleeping. A white shirt and some white pants. Although I wouldn't say it in his face, there had been yet one color that didn't look good on him, I knew saying it would just turn this as awkward as the bed argument we had just had minutes ago.

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

I've never felt so embarrassed in my life. The fact that Blaine was nice enough to still offer me to share a bed after starting the most awkward conversation in the history of Dalton was just a proof that he wasn't just pretending to be nice, just like everyone he, he genuinely cared.

As much as I appreciated all of the maids, servants as well as the king and the queen's compliments, I knew they did it just because they knew I had the crappiest job there could ever be. I'm basically just a bag of flour waiting to be beaten up. But with Blaine it was different, he actually cared about my well being and not just because he told me nice thing but he also compromised himself to keep me safe.

"I'll go change now, just give me a minute." Blaine's patience in everything made me realize that I was probably the one who worried so much. He seemed to calm and tranquil about what was happening it was just ridiculous.

I saw what he had done with the bed. He placed the pillow on one side of the bed. Probably that was his side, but I don't blame him. I mean I had already influenced him in a way so I could have a bed to sleep at so keeping the pillow was more than fair. The bed was actually really huge and could easily hold two persons. A few minutes passed before Blaine actually arrived and he startled me a bit. He was wearing basically the same thing I was.

"Well, I suppose we're ready." I just nodded, I was pretty tired and I'm sure he was as well. "The pillow is yours by the way."

"Hey, you don't have to do that. I caused enough trouble already."

"Nonsense, you'll take the pillow and you'll enjoy it!" He said in a playful tone. Something I haven't been able to deal with ever since I saw it has been his smile and there he was beaming one at my direction. His smile was so wide that his caramel colored eyes squinted a bit while he did so but it just made it a lot cuter.

"Blaine… thank you so much for all that you've done for me, even after how I began treating you."

There it was, that sweet and innocent looking smile of his. "Hey, don't worry about it. You're just as new to this as I am. We're allowed to make mistakes."

I couldn't help but laugh softly. "But not to much I hope. I want to finish this week without much bruises."

Apparently my joke wasn't very tasteful. That comment managed to murder that beautiful warm smile that used to rest in Blaine's face. "I'll try, because believe me if I cause you to get hurt even once I doubt I will be able to forgive myself-"

While completely inappropriate, I pressed one of my fingers against his lips to stop him from continuing. I don't know if it was my imagination or wishful thinking but I swore he blushed. "Remember what I told you before? You worry too much. Everything is going to be alright."

There it was again, the beautiful smile of his had been reborn. "Okay, if you say so."

"Oh and by the way, thank you for the compliment you directed at me while dinning." Okay, I said that on purpose just to catch his reaction. While there was still no bone in my body that believed Blaine could be attracted to a guy, that comment his father said kind of made me doubt myself for a bit. Still, it wasn't as if I was crushing on him. He's very attractive and a really nice person but I still barely knew him and besides a prince would never fall for a miller's son, but yet he blushed again.

"Oh… that was nothing. I was just being honest. I'm glad we're getting to spend time with each other. Mostly because I know we'll be the best of friends one day."

Friends. Yeah, that's probably as far as we'll go.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: So another chapter, I'm on a roll! I know, it was quite fluffy and everything but don't get too used to it, I'm one the biggest angst lovers ever and everything will go downhill from here. Again, another chapter paving the ground for the future chapters, no major characters where introduced but I really liked the idea of having Sue as a governess because, let's face it, it was that or being the head knight and that just didn't seem as Sue-like to me. Also I'll try to stick to a more "medieval" lingo so no use of "cool" or "dude", the latter which I substituted for "mate" as I found it a bit more proper for it (even though some of the Brits who read this might disagree). Also, after making a small research, I decided to make the clothes be more similar to those on the Renaissance than the ones in the actual medieval time period. Google them if you want a better idea of how they look like. **

**Thanks to my awesome beta as well as those of you who have reviewed, followed and faved this story! **


	4. Dalton Academy

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**So this is the first time while writing this story that I've had trouble coming up with how to write some parts and I decided I'll give it a small break, at least until I write the next chapter for Showgirl. Anyways, hope you enjoy it!**

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"Sam?"

I had no idea where I was. A typical morning for me would consist of getting up from bed, mostly by the annoying feeling of hay tickling some part of my head but today was different, it felt like if I had slept on the softest cloud in the sky. The soft voice calling my name just added to the whole ethereal feeling I had going on.

"Sam, wake up!" A gentle but firm shove was all that it took to get me back into reality. As I opened my eyes everything came back to me, I was the prince's whipping boy, not a guest at the castle, and I needed to start acting like it. "Your clothes are already on the dressing room. Do you want me to wait for you?"

"Don't worry, I've got this. Thanks for everything."

I-oOo-I

I hate rushing through breakfast but Blaine had done everything by the time I woke-up and everyone was waiting for me so I figured it would be better to just do things fast. Once done, I followed Blaine to an elegant white chariot, which was supposed to be our mean of transportation.

"Whoa, fancy! I've heard a lot about this things before but I've never been so close to one."

Apparently, Blaine found my lack of knowledge about chariots amusing, which would normally annoy me but for some reason he can get away with it without even bothering me. "Believe me, they're not all that amazing. They are the most comfortable way to travel around town but one can easily get mugged in one of these."

"Well you won't need to worry about that. If anyone attempts to do so I've got your back. Those thieves won't even know what hit them."

Blaine replied with that honest smile of his. No sound came from neither of us after that which made everything turn into another awkward silence. I need to work on preventing that from happening so often.

"So, how's this Dalton Academy place?"

Blaine seemed oddly unenthusiastic about the question. "Nothing special. Just a bunch of rich boys doing their usual antics."

"Huh, they must be really something to have the ultimate rich boy calling them that." I said in a playful manner, even if we managed to talk normally yesterdays we didn't knew each other well enough to be messing around with one another. Luckily I managed to steal another smile from him, that's always a good sign.

"I know, quite hypocritical coming from me but still, some of those guys have their egos in the highest pedestal they could possibly imagine. Take it from me, refraining from punching someone is a daily struggle there."

"Wow, they sound like a handful. Guess not all privileged people are as likable as you then."

"You guessed right." I doubt Blaine could sound arrogant even if he tried. "But in all seriousness, if anyone tries to get to you just let me know and I'll take care of them."

"So I suppose we've got each other's back then?"

"Correct again."

I'm not really familiar with his way of thinking but Blaine seemed like the guy to always have a plan, which in situations like these will prove to be a really helpful quality because, I'll be honest, I'm terrified.

I should have thought about this earlier, a school full of boys? If all of them look half as good as Blaine does I'll have to pray my willpower is strong enough to keep me from embarrassing both Blaine and myself.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

The chariot ride to Dalton was very productive. I was able to inform Sam of almost everyone in Dalton enough to have him know at least something rather than just arriving without an idea of what was going on. "One last thing Sam, don't get too separated from me. Everyone wears the same uniform so it's really easy to get lost in there."

"I'll try." Sam looked really nervous, I don't recall him looking so anxious, even yesterday.

"Hey don't worry, we'll make it through. Just remember, try to stay awake during the lessons and don't pick a fight. I talk from experience; it's not worth it. Follow those rules and you'll be out of trouble's way."

What I believed to be a sad excuse for a pep talk seemed to calm Sam down a bit. What made him feel so nervous intrigued me. He was good-looking, obviously strong and could possibly take on half of the guys there on his own, so what could possibly make him feel uneasy?

In a matter of minutes we both got off the chariot and into the tall building that was the Dalton Academy. I wouldn't blame Sam for being nervous, the building itself is intimidating, it still makes me feel rather uneasy and I've attended this place for years now! I blame it on the gargoyles; those things are meant to be on cathedrals, not schools.

The copper colored establishment that was the Dalton Academy used to be a library. It has really long but narrow halls that people can easily get lost in. The main distinguishing feature of the Dalton Academy was its gigantic clock tower, that thing was almost as tall as the highest tower on the castle. It was an imposing sight, to say the least. The classrooms are really small, good thing is that there are very few people who attend Dalton. Most nobles have about five or six children but luckily most of them are females, they attend another school and to be honest it's a relief because I doubt the small classrooms would manage to store so many people in them. The gatekeeper greeted us as the tall wooden door opened and we both took our first steps inside.

The inside looked horribly small for the enormous height of the building. I looked at Sam for a second, a shame one can't read minds because the expression on his face was a mystery to me, he looked amazed by the place but at the same time he remained uneasy.

"Our first class is down this hall, let's go before the bell rings." That's another thing about Dalton Academy, the clock tower hosts an enormous bell that marks the beginning and ending of each class and the sound rumbles through the whole place so it's almost impossible to sneak late into class.

I-oOo-I

"Students, I'll like you all to give a warm welcome to Prince Devon's and Sir Hunter's… err, companions. They will be joining us through the rest of this semester." Madame Del Monico announced as both Sam and Hunter's whipping boy stood up while the other students clapped. Sam looked frightened but at least the clapping seemed to keep his nerves at place.

Class went on as usual, which meant just as boring as ever. The topic today was calligraphy, while some placed in Dalton specialized in teaching young people interesting stuff like how to play an instrument or vocal training, I was stuck here learning calligraphy. At least Sam seemed like he was enjoying it.

"Alright class, now it's time for you to do it yourself. Jeffrey, be a dear and hand out everyone a pen and a piece of papyrus. Nicholas, please give everyone a bottle of ink." As soon as our tutor instructed them, Jeff and Nick both did as she said. Even if life at Dalton Academy sounds somber there are actually friendly faces, which I don't mention much, both Jeff and Nick have been friends of mine since the beginning and although I'm rarely allowed to invite guest to the castle, I always enjoy passing time with them. "When everyone has their materials, I'll like you to pick a partner and write a sentence each. Once you're done, I'll evaluate your handwriting."

Sam and I quickly turned to each other's direction almost in synch. "Well that was easy."

"I'll warn you I've never actually used one of this things before. You'll probably beat me to it." Sam said shyly.

"Don't worry about it, I can teach you. It's really easy once you get the hang of it."

"You sure? We'll probably be the last to finish, wouldn't that get us in trouble?" I remember that the first time I laid eyes on Sam he seemed like this perfect godlike being but seeing him so vulnerable made me realize he's just like everyone else, something that for some reason made him a lot more endearing, if possible.

"I guess we'll have to take the risk. But don't worry, you're new at this and I'm sure Madame Del Monico will understand."

Before we could begin the writing itself, I felt a violent thump on the table. The strike was strong enough to make the bottle of ink topple over the papyrus, the ink stain made it impossible to write now. I quickly turned to see what caused the bottle to fall over and much to my dismay there he was, Hunter Clarington, with that smug smirk of his.

"Geez your highness, you're as clumsy as ever. You know you need to apply the ink on the pen first right?"

I remember that I told Sam not to get into a fight, especially over something so silly, but this guy always brought the worse in me. "Hunter what the hell? Can't you act like a normal human being and mind your own business for once?"

"Hey, I'm not the one dropping ink over my work. Guess the requirement to become a member of the royal family have decreased, apparently any clumsy buffoon can join now."

"Shut up Clarington, its not as if I didn't see you made the ink bottle topple."

I knew Sam was trying to ignore the fight but it didn't take him long to intervene. "Just let it go Bla-… your highness, it's not worth fighting for."

"Oh how cute, now your little pet is giving you orders? How low can you fall?"

That sealed it; he could mock me all he, but messing with Sam? "Hunter, get out of my face or I swear I'll stab you in the eye with my pen!"

Apparently my threat was enough to make Hunter look a bit startled but it was also loud enough to gain Mdm. Del Monico's attention.

"Damn it you two, seriously? You've just got into a fight two days ago, are you going at it again? Who started it?"

"Do you really need to ask Madame? It was our "beloved" prince yet again. I was just passing by his place and he dropped his inkbottle over his papyrus and wanted me to take the blame for his clumsy mistakes. If this is guy is the future king of Dalton I'm really fearing for our lives."

Mdm. Del Monico, just like myself, rolled her eyes over Hunter's antics. "Okay Hunter, no need to turn this more dramatic than how it already is. Do you have anything to say for yourself, your highness?"

"It was actually Hunter who made the bottle fall over. He hit the desk hard enough to make the ink fall."

Mdm. Del Monico looked as frustrated as ever, whenever she rubbed her forehead it always meant something bad was going to happen. "Okay, you two. I don't know who did this but if one of you doesn't confess both of you will get punished."

"You know, Hunter's right, Madame. I never saw Hunter touch the desk, besides, everyone heard Prince Devon threaten Hunter like a madman and wasn't threatening another student against the academy's rules?" Off course Sebastian had to intervene, he was just as bitter as Hunter, no wonder both of them got along so well.

"I'm sorry your highness but that's two against one. And those are two rules you infringed and rules are rules, now would you're companion care to put his hand on top of the table?" I felt my eyes grow as I noticed Mdm. Del Monico's meter stick; she was going to hit Sam. I wasn't the only one who noticed, Sam was just as terrified as I was.

"Wait! Madame, you don't need to do this, please. I swear I didn't do it."

She was obviously not buying it. "Cut it out, you don't need to make this harder than how it should."

"Neither do you! Please don't harm him!" Apparently all my begging was of no use, she was determined to do it and there was no stopping it from happening.

"She's right your highness. Besides I can take a few hits." Sam said while trying to look as calm as possible. I knew he was horrified but he would still pretend to be fine just to make me feel better, which just made the whole process a lot worse for me.

"You see? He's fine with it, now stop weeping, you're the prince for god's sake." Mdm. Del Monico went ahead and slammed the meter stick against the table and into Sam's hand. The sound of the stick hitting the wooden table was loud enough that it echoed inside the room. Sam was biting his bottom lip to as if he wanted to contain himself from screaming.

Without thinking twice she slammed the stick once again. The horrifying sound once again filled the room. Sam had closed his eyes this time. His hand was red on the sections the stick had fallen.

"See? It's over now. You didn't need to make such a scene." She replied while she walked back to the front of the classroom.

It was over for him but for me it was hell. How could I screw up on the first day? And once again because of Hunter? I swear if it weren't because of his father's business deal with the kingdom I would have had him beheaded by now. I couldn't look at Sam in the eyes; I had already broken my bow to keep him from getting harmed. Yet he still gave me that beautiful smile of his, neither remorse nor hard feelings could be seen in his eyes, just that beautiful gaze that could melt the coldest of ices.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let this happen to you. I'm not even-"

"Hey, mistakes happen. Besides I told you I could take some hits."

I-oOo-I

"That should keep it from getting worse." I wasn't really that sure it would work but the cream that I was greasing onto Sam's hand was supposed to reduce the pain from bruises.

"Thanks Blaine, I need to ask you though, what's the deal with that Hunter guy?"

"If I only knew. He takes every chance he gets to antagonize me for no reason."

"What an ass." Couldn't have said it better myself. "And what about that other guy? He wasn't even close to us, what gives?"

"Ugh, he's Sebastian. He's just bitter because I turned him down once."

While still rubbing the ointment on his hand I notice Sam's sudden change of expression, he looked really surprised. "Wait, do you mean he... um, liked you?"

"Yeah, I don't know what he saw in me but he did. Ever since I rejected him he's been Hunter's mirror image, but to a lower extent." Just thinking about any of them made me boil with furry, it was their fault Sam had been hurt and I wasn't going to let that go easily.

"But… well if you don't mind me asking off course, if some other guy had ask would you consid-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, your highness, but your parent's are requesting your presences in the throne room."

"Tell them we'll be there in a second, Marianne. Thanks for informing us." As much as I appreciated the maids they always interrupted someone without even asking. "I'm sorry Sam, what where you saying?"

"Oh… nothing, forget about it, its not important, besides, your parents are waiting for us anyways."

Odd. He looked so eager a few seconds ago. "Alright, but I owe you one answer, alright?"

"Heh, sure I'll hang on to it."

We both rushed our way to the throne room. The fact that they wanted Sam to be there as well had me wondering what could this be about. As we arrived to the room I saw both of my parents in their respective thrones with an unusual smile on their faces.

"Greeting son, we have some really good news we would like to share with you." My father said, as I still couldn't figure what this could possibly be about.

"But first, Samuel, we're sorry about yesterday but we where having the maids clearing a room for you. It's all clean and ready for you today, I hope you had no inconvenience sleeping in one of Prince Devon's arm chairs yesterday." Yeah, that's the lie I told them just to prevent them from knowing we shared a bed. Luckily for me they fell for it.

"I'm really grateful for all your kindness your highness. I'll do my best to keep it in good conditions." Sam was just so proper it was hard to believe he hadn't been part of the noble clique before.

"Now as for you, my son. Both your mother and I began asking ourselves, "Why can't our son decide on a suitable suitor for him?" then we came to the conclusion that we where doing this the wrong way and after giving it more thought it's pretty obvious why you weren't picking any of the girls we had given you to choose from." Could they have picked up upon the idea that maybe it was because they where girls? As much as I wish it had been that I doubt they even came across that idea. "It was because you had nothing in common with the suitors. Now I know it might sound a bit crazy but we know this time we did the right choice. In three days you'll get to meet her, she's into arts, music and all that other ridiculous stuff you also find joy in."

Really? Ridiculous stuff? "And what if I don't like her either?"

"Oh come on, don't be silly. You'll like her, besides, there's one other thing…"

I felt how I raised an eyebrow upon hearing that; rarely something good followed those words. "And that would be?

"We already arranged the marriage."

"WHAT? Dad, are you insane? How could you do this to me? I don't even know her!"

"Hey, calm down. There's no need to be rude. You'll meet her and I'm sure both of you will get along just fine."

I felt light headed, how could they arrange a marriage behind my back just like this? I looked at Sam, maybe it was just me but he looked a bit… depressed? Yeah, it was probably just me. Why would he get sad over this?

"Calm down Blaine, I'm sure it won't be that bad. She's from a privileged family and from what we've heard she sounds lovely." My mother referred to me as Blaine only when she knew I was sick or whenever I was about to burst into tears, right now I wasn't sure which one was going to occur first.

"Your mother's right, she's from a respected linage as well."

How could they honestly think I cared for her heritage? Her family background wouldn't make this any better. "Could you at least tell me her name?"

"Off course, it's only fair. You'll be engaging marriage with Maiden Rachel of York."

I-oOo-I

**A/N: This chapter was a handful. I knew how I wanted it to go and end but some parts in between where just a paint to write. I'm not satisfied with the writing in it unlike the previous chapters but this will have to do it. I'll leave it in sort of a cliffhanger because I'm that evil. By the way, I'm not sure where in the world the story is taking place but if you want it to be Europe (because of York) be my guest, but I just made it that because I didn't want all the ND kids to be from the same town. Also Blaine's teacher, in case you didn't get it, is no other than Terri Schuester, I don't know about you but I've always liked her and hated that she got snubbed from the show. Thanks again to my wonderful beta for all the hard work checking my awful grammar and spelling as well as to the wonderful people reading, faving, following, and reviewing, you make my day and make the hard work pay off.**

**Hope you're enjoying it so far!**


	5. Betrothed

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I'm sorry I took so long to upload this chapter but after the horrible news struck me, I wasn't really feeling like posting anything. I felt it was too soon to post something dealing with some of the themes in this chapter but it was also an important part of the story.**

**Hope you enjoy it.**

**RIP Cory, you'll be greatly missed.**

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"I'm not marrying someone I haven't even met! How could you do this behind my back?" I'd never seen Blaine get angry before, and to be honest I really hope I don't see it often.

His parents betrothed him with someone he didn't know and it appears that he has no choice. While I know I have nothing to add to this argument and I also know that any interference will most likely get me in trouble I can't help but feel bad for Blaine. If I've learned something from living in this place, even if it's for merely two days, is that all the glamour comes with a price.

"You don't understand son, this marriage will help both kingdoms form a crucial alliance that will not only make your time as a king easier but-"

"So that's what I am to you, a business plan? I don't care what this stupid marriage will do, heck I don't even want to be the damn king!"

Wow. It's amazing how much of an effect words produce on people. Just as he finished, the room was dead silent but everyone's expressions could tell a thousand words. The queen looked as astonished as I imagined I looked myself. Blaine's face, which previously was gaining a rosy tone probably because of his anger, was regaining it's natural color but he still looked as pissed as before, still it didn't compare to his father's expression. If looks could kill Blaine would already be dead and probably I would be as well, that leer was just that powerful and frightening.

"I've had enough of you and your childish nonsense, get out of my sight or I swear I'll call the executioner!" Damn, I've never heard a father tell something so harsh to their child. Judging by the tone was pretty serious about his decision as well.

"Give me a fucking sword and I'll do it myself to save him the time!" Blaine was furious; I was actually scared to even look at him. It was probably the threats they threw at each other that got to me the most. What followed though, caught me off guard.

_SMACK!_

If the argument had been with anyone else, that blow straight to the face would have impacted me. Being the king, he had the wholesome right to punish Blaine with his own hand, which he took the liberty of doing, literally. The sight of a hurt Blaine lying on the floor was a powerful but grim visage. I could tell by the king's face that he was regretting doing it just as quickly as he stood up to do it.

"Get him out of here…"

Was he talking to me? Quite a silly question as I was the only other person there but still, I was scared to the core and wasn't able to move easily.

"NOW!"

I-oOo-I

"I'm really sorry you had to witness that."

"Don't worry you had to do what you had to do." I was being totally honest with him, even if the thought of getting his father as angry as he was a couple of hours ago made my blood freeze, I was more than aware as to why Blaine reacted the way he did, if it had been me I doubt I would have done anything differently.

"Also, you don't really need to do this. I could call one of the nurses and-"

"Hey, it's my pleasure to aid you on your healing. You did the same for me, why should it be any different when it's the other way around?"

"I suppose you're right, but still you didn't have to carry me bridal style all the way to my bed."

"Heh, I know but I also didn't want to get wacked by your father and it was the only way I could think of carrying you. I don't care what you think but that man's imposing."

Apparently flattering his father wasn't something Blaine was fond off, at least at the moment. The huge eye roll he did was enough of a clue. "Believe me, you'll get used to it pretty soon."

He might be right, especially if the outbursts happen often. Before I could reply the door opened and one of the maids came in, luckily this time there was nothing interrupted by her appearance. Still, something about her seemed a bit… off.

"Oh my, this is embarrassing. I'm really sorry I should have knocked first! I got confused with the doors again." She was still looking sheepishly at us but her reason of embarrassment seemed to change slightly. "Am I… interrupting you two?"

As I saw Blaine's face turn a pinkish hue I realized what she meant. The sight of me sitting on Blaine's bed while caressing his face, even if it was just to apply the ointment on the bruise, could give the wrong idea to anyone unaware of the situation.

"Oh, no worries Tina nothing of great importance is going on here. Samuel here is just… being his kind self and helping me with a little situation." Blaine quickly turned his face to show the reddish-violet as if to justify his statement. "See?"

"Oh my! How did you get that?" As much as I support every young women who's taken from their village to help as a maid or nurse on the castle, this girl was coming off as slightly nosy and unprofessional, at least compared to the rest.

"Uh, well… actually I would rather not tell. It's… quite embarrassing really."

"But how am I supposed to help you prevent it in the future? I thought that as maids we where supposed to take care of the royal family." There she was at it again, nosy Tina, besides I was doing a pretty good job at taking care of him if I say so myself. To prevent any further interference I made my best "not now" gesture at her, which she apparently understood. "Oh well, I suppose this will be a talk for another day. You got to be more careful your highness."

"Thanks for the heads-up Tina. I'll try to be more careful." After getting his reply Tina just smiled and left the room.

"Well, she seems delightful."

"Yeah, she's a doll. Yet she's still one of the newest ones to come work at the castle, she'll get the hang of the rooms pretty soon." Apparently Blaine didn't get my hint of sarcasm but I'm glad he didn't, just goes on to prove how kind he really is.

"She was right though, I didn't even realize how… awkward this whole situation could be interpreted as. I just hope she's not of the gossipy kind."

Blaine seemed to be taking it all in a considerably calm way. "Nah, don't worry. She's got good intentions. Besides, I didn't even felt it getting weird, at least until she pointed it out."

"You're right, it was just you and me having each other's back, just like you told me earlier today."

"Yeah, exactly." Blaine was right, what could be so wrong about having someone helping another person out? If anything got misinterpreted it was probably just on that girl's head. Damn, she must have some pretty weird fantasies if she even considered the prince getting it on with someone like me.

"So… you want me to continue?" I felt myself getting nervous by even asking. I wouldn't be surprised if I turned red in embarrassment.

Luckily Blaine just laughed it off, which surprisingly calmed me. "Sure, I just hope all this medical remedies help conceal bruise. Imagine what the people at the Academy might think if they saw me like this?"

"Let them think what they want, you know what really happen and that's all that counts."

"You know something, Sam? You're a really wise man." Wise? Me? Intellectual brightness was something I was told I never possessed. At least in great quantities, back at McKinley I was never the brightest or most intelligent kid on town.

While most kids where harassed for being too short, lanky or for their foul appearances, the thing that always made me get enraged was when someone called me stupid. I knew that I wasn't the smartest kind of the bunch but rubbing it in my face always made me feel bad about myself. While I didn't believe him completely, I was grateful to receive such a compliment, especially from the prince himself.

"Thanks Blaine, it means a lot."

"You've given nothing but great advices, it's the least I could have said." I'll admit it, Blaine knows his way with words, he could make even the most miserable being on the kingdom feel good about themself, well everyone but himself apparently.

"You know, it would be easier to believe you if you didn't look so sad. What's wrong?"

I wasn't sure if my question was the cause of it but Blaine's eyes began to look watery. The fact that he wiped one of his eyes afterwards just made my suspicions greater. "I hate my life Sam. I don't want to get married to some stranger but I have no other choice. As corny as it might sound I always dreamt of meeting the person I would fall in love with and wanted to spend the rest of my life with but now that's been taken away from me as well."

I hated being part of situations like this one; there was nothing I could say to make him feel better, at least anything that was true. He was going to get married whether he liked it or not, and it was pretty obvious this was a big no. What made it a lot more difficult was the fact that he was now crying. When trapped in a situation like this I knew that following my instincts was the way to go. "Don't cry Blaine, everything will be…"

"No it won't, it will never be! I was never supposed to be king, that why I was the second one to be born. Cooper was supposed to be king, not me!"

"Whoa! You have a big brother?" While the idea of an older Blaine amused me, I couldn't help but wonder why this Cooper guy wasn't the main pick to become king. Maybe he got exiled or got overwhelmed by the responsibilities?

"I had a big brother. Destiny plays the cruelest tricks on people and I was certainly no exception. Cooper… passed away a few years ago. He was always the favorite one, dad always spent time with him, he was skilled in everything I'm not and he was also the better looking one of the two. I bet that if he had the outburst that I had today, my father wouldn't had even touched him."

Better looking that Blaine? Could that even be possible? I won't question him on that since this is a sensible topic but I really can't believe he thinks so lowly of himself when he is in fact the opposite of what he makes himself out to be. "Hey, I'm sure he was an amazing person but you're just as great of a person as anyone else. Also, I saw your father's face after the incident happened, I'd never seen anyone regret their actions as much as he did. Also, don't get me wrong but from the sound of it, it appears as if you had a bit of remorse against your brother…"

There I said it, he would either cry harder or get extremely pissed at me but he needs to know that keeping hard feeling against a person isn't healthy nor sane, specially when that person is, or in his case was, part of the family. "You know what's funny Sam? I actually did have a lot of scorn towards him when he lived. He was so amazing at everything that he did that I honestly became bitter and jealous about everything he could do that I couldn't but later on I realized that thing like that didn't matter at all, we where brothers and we complemented each other, what he could do that I couldn't compensated with what I could that he couldn't even if it wasn't as important as what he did. But I came to terms with that way too late. I'll never be able to tell him how much I admired him and how much I looked up to him and it's all my fault."

His words where heartbreaking, I've never imagined what my life could be without Stevie or Stacey until now but at least I know they're okay. Loosing them would be probably the worst feeling in the world and I doubt I would be strong enough to handle it. Blaine is a lot stronger than what he gives himself credit for; he endured the death of his brother and was capable of moving on and I really think he isn't aware of how strong his will is.

Tears kept rolling down his face and his eyes threatened to become a lot more swollen and red if he continued. He was devastated and I'll be lying if I told you I wasn't trying my hardest to keep myself from breaking down as well. "I miss him Sam, I really do. I sometimes wish that it was me who got stabbed during that attack."

As I said before, Blaine had an amazing way with words, he could cheer anyone up but at the same time his words where strong enough to destroy you, even when that wasn't his intention.

"I'll never be the king he was destined to be. Hunter's right, I'm a failure and a shame to everything this family stand for-"

"Blaine, please shut up." Smooth move there, I know but sometimes I can't keep my thoughts to myself and there was nothing I wanted to do more than keep him from degrading himself. "Are you even listening to yourself? You're giving that ass the reason and saying the biggest pile crap I've ever heard. You're an amazing person and I would be honored to have served as the whipping boy for a king that was as kind and generous as you have been."

Apparently my usage of words wasn't strong enough as I had hoped but it made Blaine stop producing tears for a while. Now rather than sobbing he was quietly sniffing. "But how will I know what to do? I'll never have Cooper to rely on or to ask advice about the stuff I'm supposed to do as a member of the Dalton royalty."

"Do what I do, there's no better way to go than by following your instincts. It might not be the best choice for every situation but it has saved me a couple of times. I'm sure it will work out the same for you."

While not a smile or even a grin, the long sigh he gave was quite relieving. "I think that what scares me the most is the fact that I've been alone ever since Cooper left."

"Hey, you're wrong again. You know why?" While pushy and a bit of a reckless move, an embrace was the only thing I deemed fitting for this kind of situations. "I'm here and will always be there for you."

I-oOo-I

**A/N: I know I said I was going to post one Showgirl chapter before this one but due to the tragic events that occurred during the weekend I decided to keep that story on hold to re-plan the whole Rachel side of the story for obvious reasons. This one was to have a similar situation but I was able to come up with a different approach that wouldn't affect the outcome of the story so luckily everything will continue to go as planned.**

**Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, it was a bit shorter and in a way a filler chapter but it was to pave the way for future chapters as well as to address Blaine's situation with Cooper a bit. Also, I decided to have a familiar character introduced in each chapter (at least until I can't come up with any clever way to implement them) and they will all play a role in the story. Though her appearance was short, Tina will be one of the most recurring ones through the story.**

**Hope you're enjoying it!**


	6. Sebastian Smythe

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I realized that I didn't thank my amazing beta reader on the last chapter so I'll do it right off the bat. Also would like to thank you all wonderful people who have taken the time to review, it means a lot!**

**So now on with the story. **

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"I told you already, nobody's watching!" I've heard Sam say that to me more time than I can count but I still wasn't able to accept it.

"I've seen them stare, Sam. Last thing I need is to give a bad reputation to the royal family."

Sam rolled his eyes, I knew being stubborn wasn't going to help my case but I was right. Damn Hunter will probably give me crap all day due to the bruise. "Fine, you believe whatever you want but if you ask me, your father was asking for bad rep on the first place. I mean, why strike you if he knew the bruise would eventually show?"

"Hey, lower your voice. I can't risk anyone knowing about this!"

There it was again, the eye roll. "Fine, but what are you going to tell people once they start asking?"

Damn, I hadn't really put much thought into that. Off course they where going to ask. "Well, um… maybe that it was, I don't know, a horse riding accident maybe?"

"Yeah, go on and try to believe it's true. Maybe if you say it to yourself enough times-"

"Come on Sam, you don't have to be such an ass about it! It's my problem and I don't need you interfering with it!" Okay that wasn't how I wanted to express myself but as always my mouth got ahead of my reasoning.

While not angry, Sam looked as offended as I felt stupid for bursting out to him like that. I wouldn't blame him for it though, when under pressure I don't really give much thought to what I say, yesterday's situation with my father was a prime example. It was obvious that Sam didn't want to talk to me, its funny how an expression can say more than words. I decided no to risk it and stayed quiet for the rest of the walk down to out classroom.

I'll admit, while arguing with a friend is prone to get things get awkward this was a ton times worse, most of the classrooms at Dalton had double desks where two people would share a space, mostly due to the fact that the classrooms themselves where quite small so all the saved space was valuable. Since Sam was my "companion" we needed to share a desk by default and awkward was little compared to the tension between us right now, I wish it would just be awkward but I knew we had already gone beyond that line.

"I need your attention boys, today we'll take on a new topic." Thank god. It had been three classes with calligraphy already; anything new was more than welcomed. "This is the first time the Dalton Academy will teach this subject so I expect you all to be at your best behavior." While I expected her to look at both Hunter and I, apparently I was more than enough to take all of her attention. Sometimes I feel like Madame Del Monico has a particular dislike towards me. "And one more thing, your partner for this topic will have to be different than the one of your previous assignment. Some of you need to work on your social skills as well."

This time around her snarky comment wasn't apparently directed towards me, which was always a good thing. Not having to deal with Sam while he was still hot headed was also a load off my back, yet the fact that he knew no one worried me a bit. I didn't want him to get paired with a slacker or someone who would get him in trouble.

"Excuse me your highness, is this place taken?"

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

Stupid Blaine, if he hadn't spent all of his time complaining about his problems and would have actually explained me who was who I wouldn't be standing like a fool not knowing what to do. Guess I'll have to wait and see who's left over and partner up with them.

"You need a partner?"

I didn't expect him, out of all people, to ask me to join him but what can I saw, desperate times call for desperate measures. "Um… sure!"

"Good, my desk's over there. By the way, Ms. Terri didn't really introduce you that well the other day, remember?"

"Excuse me, who?"

"You know, our teacher? My, Blaine does have you living in a bubble right?"

I tried to keep Blaine's warning about him in my head as long as possible but he was right in some things, Blaine hadn't really told me much about his school or his life outside the castle.

"Oh, how rude of me, I haven't even introduced myself. Sebastian Smythe, a pleasure."

Yeah, I knew who he was. It was because of him that I got hit yesterday with that meter stick. Still, I was now forced to work with this guy until this lesson ended so I might as well just play along. "Samuel Evans, the pleasure is all mine."

"Samuel, huh? I like your name, it has quite a… refined touch to it."

"Heh… um, thanks."

It was as if that barely understandable mixture of grunts and words where enough to change Sebastian's whole countenance. His previous proud look now reflected anxiousness and a slight of angst.

"I know you probably are aware that Blaine and I aren't on the best of terms but I just want to clarify that I've been trying my best to mend thing back to the way they where before but he just wouldn't accept it."

"Well, telling on him yesterday sure wasn't the smartest move if you ask me."

His icy eyes, while piercing managed to look… warm? "I know, and I'm sorry about that, its just that I know that things with Blaine will never get any better and sometimes I get my temper get the worst of me out."

Well at least he apologized, also the fact that he actually referred to him as Blaine rather than Prince Devon gave away the fact that he actually knew Blaine better than what I thought. "Don't sweat it, Blaine has actually been pretty moody lately so I suppose it would be better to just let him be until he cools down."

I really don't know how he does it but his face is just way to expressive when he wants. As soon as I said my previous statement, Sebastian's eyes popped so intensely that I'd lie if I said it didn't startle me a bit.

"So he's already loosing his temper with you? Oh Samuel, thing will just go downhill from there."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, back in the days when we where friendly towards each other everything took a sour turn when he stopped acting nice towards me. That's what he does, he acts all nice and friendly but once he grows tired of playing the part he just shows his true colors and, if you're lucky, he forgets that you even exist."

That couldn't be true, if anything Blaine had proved that he actually cared for me. It couldn't be a ruse, what happened today was just probably because he was in a bad mood, especially with the harsh thing he was facing, right?

"Let me guess, he's told you how much he cares for your well being and how much he wants to keep you safe, right?" He actually had, hearing that just made me feel uncomfortable. This Sebastian guy knew a whole lot about Blaine. I just nodded. "He probably told you some tragedy about him as well, am I right?"

This, all this, just couldn't be true. Blaine had done everything Sebastian was telling me he did but I just couldn't accept the fact that he knew it. Blaine had been a really great guy but Sebastian had known him longer and apparently, better.

"Well, I'll tell you something Samuel, he said and did all that stuff with me as well and you know how it all ended. Everything he told you about me are just the ways he wants you to see me just so you let down your guard. Believe me, when he gets the chance, he will stab you in the back and live you to die."

If he hadn't said any of the facts that he said I might have believe this guy was nuts but while I still don't believe Blaine could do such thing I suppose remembering his advice wouldn't hurt. "Well thanks I'll remember that. I appreciate it." He just gave me a quick grin and we waited for the teacher to continue.

"Alright I assume everyone has a partner. Now as I was saying, this subject had never been taught here before but I'll take it that you are all mature enough to deal with it. We'll learn the art of alchemy, one person per team will have to come to grab their material and then I'll explain what to do afterwards."

Sebastian quickly turned to me. "I'll go get it if you don't mind."

"Sure, thanks for offering."

While he left to grab the tray with all the materials I noticed he took a peek towards Blaine and his partner, a fair skinned boy with longish messy brown hair. I really had no idea who that was but I'll take that they get along.

"I'm back, so you know how to use any of these?"

I just shook my head. "Umm Sebastian, by any chance would you know who's Blaine sitting with?" God, that was probably the worst way to ask that question. Makes me seem really needy.

"Oh, him? He's Nick, he's one of Blaine's two lackeys, see the blonde one over there?" Sebastian discretely pointed at another boy who had hair probably as blonde as mine. "He's Jeff, the other half. Before you arrived he was the only blonde guy on this class, but if you ask me your hair prettier than his."

I could feel I was smiling like a fool, compliments always got to me. "Thanks!" The only drawback about getting compliments was that I always had the need to return it. "You have really beautiful eyes."

Damn it, completely inappropriate and I knew it. I could feel myself blushing, which just added to the embarrassment. Still, Sebastian seemed to be taking it pretty well and was actually smiling back. "I'm glad you noticed."

"Heh, well they're pretty… noticeable." Stupidest comeback ever.

"Say, Samuel, are you free on today's evening? I know of a certain place where they serve pretty fancy food and I've been dying to go there but I'm no one to go dine by myself. Do you think you'll be okay joining me? You know, as friends?"

Friends. That was the word that made this type of thing feel less uncomfortable and a lot more casual. Dinner with a friend would be actually a good idea, not that I would be glad to miss dinner with Blaine but it would be nice to vary thing a bit. "Sure, I would love too."

"Perfect, I'll pick you up at noon."

"And I'll be waiting for you." If I hadn't know better I would have wrongfully said something stupid like _'it's a date, then'._

"Okay, lets get this alchemy stuff out of the way then."

"Sebastian… I wanted to ask you something though." I knew that my question would be inappropriate considering the situation but the curiosity was killing me. "So what's the deal with that Nick guy?" Sebastian gave a surprised look probably thinking how clingy I was to the topic. I knew I needed to justify myself. "You know, because Blaine has never told me anything about them and I would just like to know his friends better, that's all."

"No worries, I'll tell you. But first I need to ask you, can you keep a secret?"

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"I'm really sorry about earlier, I wasn't really thinking clearly and I know I shouldn't have gone all crazy on you. I'm really sorry Sam."

"Hey, don't worry Blaine. Besides, I supposed we needed a bit of time away from each other, don't get me wrong, I like spending time with you but I think we need a bit of time apart just to keep things… interesting I suppose."

"I guess you're right. Also, I'm sorry you had to team up with Sebastian. I hope he didn't give you a hard time."

Surprisingly enough, Sam had been all smiles ever since we left Dalton. Right now on the chariot ride back to the castle he was still smiling. "It's no big deal, he's pretty pleasant if you ask me."

Pleasant? Sebastian? "He is? Well, I wouldn't call him that exactly but…"

"I wanted to ask you something though, Sebastian invited me to dine with him tonight. Do you think you'll be fine without me for a couple hours?"

What? Oh now I see what game he's playing. "Umm… sure it's your life, you don't need to ask me permission to do what you want."

"Awesome, thanks Blaine!"

Poor Sam, he seemed like an exhilarated kid and just about as innocent as one. Whatever Sebastian had planned couldn't be good. "I got to warn you though, Sebastian can be a bit… harsh. Try not to take what he says so seriously."

"I will, don't worry."

"Also, don't believe everything he says. I've fallen for some of those before."

"Hey, I think you're exaggerating. He was a really nice person to me, I don't really think he's up to anything… evil or the likes."

Oh poor Sam, his innocence was something I actually learned to cherish. It one of his charms and I couldn't let a snake like Sebastian destroy it. "Just keep that in mind, Sebastian might appear nice at first but once he shows his true colors-"

"Heh, funny he said the same thing about you today."

"He did what?"

"He don't take it to seriously, you just said that yourself! I mean he said some stuff that, if you ask me, sounded a bit crazy at first but I didn't really paid much attention. I don't really know what's the deal with you noble people but you tend to exaggerate thing a lot."

"Sam, listen to me, that's what Sebastian does. He messes with people's mind to make them do what he wants them too and then when he get the chance-"

"He stabs them in the back and leaves them to die? Come on Blaine, you're sounding just like him now. Just calm down and trust me, I can take care of myself." I couldn't really stay calm but as I felt Sam grab both of my hands with his I felt all the problems fade, if only for a few seconds. "Can you trust in me?"

I wasn't able to produce sound from my mouth so I simply nodded. Darn it Samuel Evans, if you only knew how much power you had over me…

I-oOo-I

**A/N: Another chapter! I think it went a bit slower than how I was hoping but I was able to build up some tension! So next chapter will focus on Sam and Sebastian's "not date". Hopefully I'll be able to upload it by tomorrow or the day after. Thanks again to the people reading, following, favoring and reviewing, you make my day!**

**Hope you're enjoying it!**


	7. First Kiss

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**Thanks a lot for the positive reception! It's my pleasure writing this stuff and it really rewarding to know people enjoy it. I'm sorry if I've not responded to some of you but I'll do my best to do so, I've just been really busy. As usual, thanks to my beta reader!**

**Enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"And remember, no matter how much he insists, don't let him pay for all the dinner. He'll take that as an excuse to ask you for favors later on." Blaine was like the older brother I never had, while caring and lovable he was also really firm and, at times, annoying.

"Alright, alright. Anything else I need to know before going out by myself, mom?" I'll never tell him directly but I really do love messing with Blaine from time to time, he does this really cute gesture whenever I get under his skin.

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious. Now finish getting dressed up before that weasel arrives to pick you up."

"I would probably be done changing if it hadn't been for your distrustful thoughts about Sebastian. Besides you have to admit you're enjoying the view." I liked to imagine Blaine decided to come into the dressing room while I was halfway through choosing a shirt just to take a peek at myself, as narcissistic and perverted as that sounds, but after what Sebastian told me earlier it's more like wishful thinking now. Though seeing him blush after I made my comment was still flattering.

"Oh come on Sam… just get ready and leave. It's rude to keep guests waiting."

"Even when that guest is Sebastian?"

"Yes, even then." Blaine was kind of a funny case; while he disliked people just like every normal person does he still cared to be as proper and controlled when speaking to them, well except for that Hunter guy.

"Alright, I'll hurry."

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

I told Sam I was going to look out for him but I really feel like letting him go to this date, yes date because no matter how much he makes you think otherwise when it's about Sebastian it's always a date, I'm actually just letting him paint a giant target on himself. Sebastian is ruthless when things don't go his way and while Sam can be a bit oblivious about it I know Sebastian will push him until either he accepts or declines a relationship with him. Been there, done that.

"Your highness?" Damn, sometimes I get too lost in my thoughts that I forget things actually happen around me.

"Oh sorry Tina, what's going on?"

"We got a guest." Shoot, that's probably Sebastian.

"Thanks for letting me know, could you tell our guest we'll be there in a minute?"

While maids would normally do things without questioning, Tina seemed a bit unsettled and nervous about my statement. "With all due respect your highness, I think you should go greet our guest. She seems mad about having to wait and honestly she kind of scares me."

She?

"Alright, I'll go there immediately. Thanks for letting me know."

I-oOo-I

"Well, well, well, what took you so long? Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?"

"Just as rude as arriving without notice!" I wasn't really mad; one couldn't stay mad at her for long, besides I knew she wasn't as annoyed as her faked voice tone implied. "All jokes aside, it's really great to have you here Santana."

"Off course it is, I hope you've been able to stand life without me spicing it up for you every now and them."

She was right, ever since I met her; Santana has been my closest friend. To an extent I think she surpasses both Nick and Jeff combined. "Barely, but I've managed myself well."

"Well enough small talk, I've brought you a present!" She then gave me a small box she was holding the whole time we spoke but I hadn't really paid much attention too.

"Oh this is far too generous, what's the occasion?"

She raised her eyebrow, which always foreshadowed a witty comeback. "Can't friends just give gifts to each other without unnecessary questioning? Besides, with that attitude I doubt you get much of these anyways so just take it."

"Alright, no need to get snarky." Hesitating I unwrapped the orange bow from the box and opened it. Inside laid a golden ring with a transparent looking gem on top. "Oh… I don't know what to say. Are you proposing to me?"

"Shut up. That's a mood ring, witches craft them to have the color of the gem reflect the emotion the bearer is feeling. It's basically magic on your index finger."

"Oh come on Santana, do you actually believe in that nonsense? If magic were real everyone would be rich and there wouldn't be hunger all across the villages of the region."

"Don't believe me? Let me prove you wrong." Santana quickly grabbed the ring and place it on her finger. The jewel still looked transparent.

"See? They just sell those things to make gullible people buy them. The design is pretty, I'll give it that."

"Hey if you don't like it then that's that. No need to get all little bitch on me!" Now she was actually mad. It wasn't my intention to get her angry but I've always hated the concept of magic. The idea of solving problems with the wave of a wand or by speaking in tongues is way to simple and too good to be true.

I was way too lost in thoughts again that I didn't notice the ring in front of me. The jewel was now red.

"Wait, when did that happen?"

"You believe me now? Face it Blaine, magic's magic. Even if there's no logical way to define its existence, it's still here."

While Santana seemed pretty into her argument, I was sure there was some kind of explanation for that. "Maybe it's got something to do with the light reflecting on it."

"Blaine you suck. Couldn't you just humor me for a second? Here take the ring, I thought I could help you see things in a different light but you proved me wrong." As Santana took off the ring I noticed the gemstone slowly turned back to its transparent state.

"What does each color mean anyways?"

"There's a small scroll with the meaning for each color inside the box. Give it a read anytime you can."

I gave the box a quick look, I saw the scroll lying there and to be honest I was quite curious of seeing what each color meant. From what I just witnessed I assumed red had something to do with anger, a shame as that was my favorite color.

"Well, I got to leave soon. I was just allowed here to hand you the ring. It was nice seeing you again. By the way, my mother told me about your engagement, congratulations!"

"Ugh… yeah about that-"

"Save me that story for later, I got to get back home. It's already getting dark outside. See you later, your highness." Santana waved goodbye as she left the main hall.

Maybe the gift actually had a purpose. She probably was sent here from her family to give me the gift as an engagement present. I appreciate that she actually masked it so well as well as the fact that it made her seem so casual about it. Santana had always been the prime example of the perfect girl, she was graceful, smart and as fair as they get, my mother actually tried to set us up once she saw how great we got along but Santana suffered the same fate as I did, she just couldn't find a suitable partner. I suppose her perfect man is out there, just as mine is as well.

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"I'll be honest, for a second I thought you were going to cancel on me."

Sebastian just laughed it out as our chariot ride to the restaurant continued. He had just picked me up at the castle a couple minutes ago, Blaine still looked uneasy about it but I suppose that's what everyone feels when it comes to their old flames, or whatever category Sebastian fits in.

"Please, did you really imagine I would have stood you up? I'm a gentleman and I have pretty good manners if I do say so myself." He was right, why doubt a noble man? They where pretty decent and honorable, or at least Blaine was so why should the rest be any different?

"Yeah, I suppose that was silly. So do you have any idea of what kind of food they serve at that place?" I know I sound like a gluttonous pig but there are two things I couldn't live without, my family and a good plate of food. The latter was something I had missed on a couple times due to the financial problems my family had but life at the castle really spoiled me when it came to good meals.

"I'm not really sure, but I've heard they have a pretty great smoked pork as well as beef." I really can't figure why Blaine disliked Sebastian so much? I mean, it was his fault the teacher slammed her meter stick against my hand twice but I've gotten over than already.

"You know, Blaine was all worried about me coming here with you. I'm not really sure why though, you're a really amazing guy if you ask me."

Apparently Sebastian took the compliment rather well. That smile on his face was as wide as it could be and he looked quite proud about it as well. "What else did he told you about me?"

"Well nothing really, just some crazy stuff not worth mentioning. Out of curiosity though, what the deal between both of you?"

"It's a pretty long story, I don't want to bore you with it."

"It can't be that bad."

Sebastian sighed; he seemed pretty hesitant about spilling any details. "Tell me what you know. I'll tell you what's true and what isn't."

"Well, he didn't really give much detail but basically he told me you got mad about him not wanting to be more… intimate with him." I wasn't really sure how to say that without making things any more uncomfortable for him and apparently my efforts weren't enough.

It was as if I had stroke a pressure point on Sebastian because he was biting his lips nervously and was breathing heavily. "Yes, that's basically it. I know it makes me sound like the most shallow person in the region but if you only knew how much it actually hurts to be rejected after all the false signs he sent, you would understand why I did all those things."

"False signs?"

"Don't look so surprised, I bet he's done the same to you. As I told you earlier today, he starts acting friendly towards you. Then he makes fake promises and tells you he'll never hurt you. You're just one step from falling into his trap but luckily you've got me to warn you about it."

"Don't take it the wrong way but maybe you got all the wrong signs I mean, I doubt he's actually into guys."

"Come on Samuel, acting naïve is cute at first but you got to face facts. Blaine confessed to me that he actually did like guys; he told me I helped him realize it. That's like the universal way of saying "_I like you_"."

Blaine liked guys? It didn't seem like it, but then again I could see now why he got so pissed about his forced engagement. "So… the secret you told me about him earlier today is actually true?"

Sebastian gave me a snide look. "Off course it's true, why would I lie to you?"

He was right, man those things that Blaine told me about Sebastian where really starting to take over my mind but why shouldn't I trust him, he seems honest enough about everything.

"You're right. But are you sure Blaine and that Nick guy are actually-"

"Yes, there's no doubt about it."

I-oOo-I

It was not as if I was depressed over knowing Blaine was into another person, it seemed pretty logical. Blaine and Nick probably knew each other for a long time and they where probably closer than he was to me. But the feeling of knowing that just crushed me, I told myself the first day at the castle that I wouldn't fall for him but I think I developed something, probably it was purely platonic but still…

"You've barely touched the meat, is something wrong?" Sebastian demonstrated in the course of a day that he was a caring person, regardless of everything Blaine said.

"I'm fine, I'm just not that hungry."

"Oh please, I invited you to dinner. The only thing you should be is hungry; you seemed pretty excited about it while in the chariot. Tell me what's really going on, you can trust me."

"It's nothing, really. I just don't feel like eating."

"Is it the fact that we're in a private table? Because I can get us a regular one if it makes you feel better."

The private table was actually pretty nice. It was literally a private space; the table was on one of the corners of the pub. There where no chairs, instead we sat on a curved couch, the whole space was concealed from the public with an elegant curtain while a bright light dangled on top of us.

"No, don't worry its actually pretty nice. I just don't have enough appetite right now."

"Really? I have something here that always helps me build an appetite. You'll just need to close your eyes and open your mouth first, I'm sure you'll like the taste regardless of what it actually is."

I did as Sebastian said, I had seen everything he had ordered and I was actually not sure anything would help though even though I wouldn't mind if he passed over one of the cherry sized tomatoes he had. It took me less than a second to realize that whatever was pressing against my lips wasn't food.

I-oOo-I

**Sebastian's POV**

I was actually expecting a punch in the face or something but I'm glad he returned the kiss and while the dinner had already ended the kiss was still the main point of attention in Samuel.

"Before I leave just let me tell you something." For the first these evening, he seemed rather shy. "You were my first one."

"Really? I'm surprised, how could someone like you never been kissed before?"

"Regardless… thank you for the dinner."

"It was my pleasure, just remember don't tell Blaine anything about tonight. He might freak out over it."

Samuel smiled, his illusion almost made me feel guilty. "Hey, if you would have told me about it I would have freaked out myself. Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

"Let me make sure about it." I'll admit that his lips are really soft; if it wasn't for it I doubt we would be having this goodbye kiss. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I guess you will, see you later!"

As he got out of the chariot and into the castle we left. Finally! Samuel's cute, he's kind of like a toddler trapped in a perfect body but that's as far as it gets. I suppose he will have to do for right now. Besides, what a better way than to get back at Blaine than by getting his lap dog on my side.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: I'm sorry, I lied. I wanted the chapter to focus on Sam and Sebastian's dinner but then the Santana part seemed like a better fit to keep thing interesting so I decided to add it into this chapter. That mood ring will be a key point to the story and I'll also try to show Blaine's other friends outside of the Dalton Academy a lot more regularly. **

**Also a small confession, I actually wanted to have Sam accidentally bite Sebastian's lip thinking it was food just for humor relief but opted to just keep things dramatic because I'm a bore. I'll also add other character's point of view every once in a while just to keep things different every now and then.**

**Thanks again to everyone who has followed, faved and especially to the reviewers, your opinions really help me when writing this.**


	8. Alchemy

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**Thanks a lot for the positive reception! It's my pleasure writing this stuff and it really rewarding to know people enjoy it. I'm sorry if I've not responded to some of you but I'll do my best to do so, I've just been really busy. As usual, thanks to my beta reader!**

**Enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"You look awfully gleeful today, how did things go yesterday with Sebastian?"

"It was okay I guess, nothing to get excited about." Yeah right, ever since I've met him I've never seen him so happy. "What about you? I see you got yourself some new jewelry."

"It's an engagement gift from a friend, nothing to get excited about either."

"I think it's really nice, I hadn't even seen amber being used as jewelry material before. Back at McKinley we mostly just used it as a substitute for coal."

Sam was right; the gem was an amber-ish hue of brown. According to the scroll in the ring's box, brown reflected idleness. Guess the ring is working just fine then.

"Thanks. I'm not a great fan of the tones of the color brown, it's a pretty boring color if you ask me."

"I think the opposite. Brown actually is really calming and makes me feel a lot more… tranquil. Besides, it reminds me of your eyes." Peace and serenity reminded him of my eyes? That was quite flattering. "The jewel I meant, the similarity in color is uncanny." He said that as if he wanted to apologize for saying it, but I'll take it. "Correct me if I'm wrong but is your ring turning… pink?"

Crap. "No! It must be the light in here or something." I need to remember to keep this away from people's sight, last thing I need it having them question me about stuff I'm not even completely sold on like "magic". I wouldn't even be wearing it if it wasn't for Santana, if for some reason I run into her outside of the castle and she saw I wasn't wearing the ring there would be hell to pay.

"Okay, whatever. So do you think we will continue with the alchemy class today?"

"I'm pretty sure we will, Mdm. Del Monico takes about five days to finish a topic, it wouldn't surprise me if by next week we're still practicing alchemy."

"That's good to hear." Well that was awfully enthusiastic, I don't know what actually happened yesterday but I was getting quite a strange vibe from Sam.

"I didn't know alchemy got you so excited."

"Well I wasn't really that much excited about it at first but trying new things is always good. You might end up liking it."

Yeah right, I'm pretty sure he's just aware as I that we're not actually talking about alchemy any more. "Possibly, but be careful alchemy might be dangerous if you're not cautious."

Sam raised he eyebrow at me, he got what I was saying. "Well maybe if you gave alchemy a chance there wouldn't be much to worry about."

"I've had about enough alchemy to know it's dangers, I just don't want you to make the same mistakes as I did."

"If anything happens to me then it's my problem, not yours."

"Sam, please listen to me-"

"Save it Blaine. I don't need you babying me around, I can take care of myself."

"Is that so?"

"It is, now get out of my face."

Is that how you want to play? So be it.

I-oOo-I

"Today we'll learn about reactions. I'll let you know beforehand that this can be done without any accidents happening but since I know half of you aren't skilled enough to do this in pairs, let alone by your selves, I decided to make these an activity for groups of four. Arrange yourselves while I hand each team the instructions for the activity."

Nick quickly called Jeff to join us, which was off course the logical answer. Along with Jeff came Trent, another student at Dalton who I wasn't that close with but he had been friendly towards me a couple of times in the past. All in all it was a good team.

I quickly turned around to see whom Sam was going to team-up with. There was Sebastian off course and along them sat Hunter, I was beginning to think if Sam had agreed to team-up with him just to piss me off.

"Kurt, get your ass over here. Now!" Damn, Hunter's yelling could be heard from miles. Just about as quickly as he call him, Hunter's whipping boy rushed his way to Sam's table and join them.

"Wow, Sebastian and Hunter? Your boy is on a rough spot Blaine."

"Don't worry about him, I'm sure he's enjoying it."

"Jeff's right, those two separated are annoying but combined? I'll be surprised if he makes it out of there alive."

"Come on Nick, let's just focus on our assignment."

"Blaine's right, you know how Ms. Terri gets when we don't finish the assignments on time." I'm starting to like this Trent guy.

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"So any of you guys know anything about alchemy?"

Hunter gave me an estranged look. "Damn it Sebastian, I thought you decided to partner up with the prince's bitch because he was going to be of some use."

"Calm down Hunter, Samuel's just as new to these as much as you and I are. There's no need to get harsh."

"Whatever, besides if we don't finish I'm not going to be the one getting punished anyways." Blaine was right this guy is a dick. I feel sorry for his whipping boy though; the guy seems so frail it's not even fair. "You should consider getting one of these Sebastian, they're pretty useful."

"You know I can't get one, only nobles are allowed to have one."

"So? Your father's rich, you're basically an honorary nobleman."

"Lets just get to work."

Man, that guy's annoying. My respect to that Kurt guy, if he's able to stand that guy for as long as I've been with Blaine he deserves at least some recognition for his achievement.

"So, according to the assignment sheet we need to mix the cinnamon powder and the charcoal dust with… oh my god, gross!"

"Sebastian you're such a pussy, just read it!"

"Fine, we need to mix both those things with that cup of horse urine."

Horse urine? I officially hate alchemy.

"Let the servants do the mixing, we'll do the actual experiment once it's ready."

"Wait, I'm not touching that thing. Why don't we all just do it and get it over with?"

Hunter glared towards me, its pretty clear by know he doesn't like me. "Did I ask for your opinion on the matter, goldilocks? Now shut up and go mix."

"He's right Hunter, why can't we all just do it and get it over with?" I got actually surprised to have Kurt backing me up on this; still even I knew it wasn't a smart move.

"What did you just call me, peasant?"

"I'm sorry, master Clarington."

"That's more like it. Now get as far as possible from the table, I don't want the smell of that crap to annoy me and take blondie with you."

Kurt did as he said and we both went to a farther desk to start mixing the ingredients.

"He makes you call him master?"

Kurt looked at me still a bit frightened. "Well he's not wrong, he's my superior."

"How can you say that? That guy's the biggest asshole I've ever met, you can't let him treat you like that."

"Look, I don't want to get in any trouble okay? Let's just finish mixing this without making much mess and get this over with."

Poor guy, I really do pity him.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

I can't believe we've spent almost five hours working on this. At least classes are almost over; the fact that we're almost done is a plus.

"Alright, we just need to place the phosphorus inside the jar and heath it up. Nick help Trent get the phosphorus out of the tube. Want to help with heating it up Blaine?"

"You guys have done a lot by now, I'll take it from here."

I just needed to get the phosphorus into the glass jar and heat it up in the boiling room, from the sound of it I didn't see what was all the fuss about alchemy, it seemed simple enough. I was able to arrive to the room and noticed we where the first to actually get their jars there. We where doing pretty well, half of the other groups had barely achieved to have their phosphorus come into shape. Sam was still concerning me though, with a team like his things could get ugly. Back at the classroom everything was pretty much the same. My team, particularly Nick, was glancing at my direction, even before I sat back on our table.

"Wow, cool ring! When did you get that?"

"Oh this? It was a gift."

Nick looked at Jeff, probably thinking it had been him, but Jeff just shook his head. "What was the occasion?"

"Can't friends just gift friends stuff without people questioning it?" Ok I was totally quoting Santana there but it seemed fitting.

"Alright, alright. Was it… her who gave it to you?"

I really don't understand why he does this, it's not as if not mentioning her name would make things less obvious. Besides, Jeff already knew and I bet Trent didn't even care. "Yes, it was Santana."

"Come on mate, you got to hook me up in another date with her. I know I blew it last time but I was nervous, I swear I'll make it right this time." Nick had a major crush on Santana, sadly the feeling wasn't returned from her part. To me it seemed fitting, having two of my best friends date was like the perfect scenario but Santana wasn't having anything Nick had to offer.

"I've told you a thousand times, she's not that into you. Besides there are other pretty girls out there, I'm sure you'll find the right one somewhere."

"That's enough chatter both of you. You should go check on the phosphorus Blaine. We don't want to ruin our hard work over Nick's failures at love."

Jeff was right, we needed to finish this thing, besides I was already feeling asphyxiated by staying in the same room for so long. "I'll go check on it, you guys wait here."

The boiling room was now filled with a few more jars. Good thing I have a good memory because it was pretty hard to tell the difference between them. Something struck me as strange though; our jar was producing a tone of white smoke.

Leaving that room after I saw the jar shaking has probably been the smartest decision I've ever taken.

I-oOo-I

"You did what?"

I've never been so terrified in my life. After I left the room I heard an explosion, and then about five more followed. Something went wrong with the experiment and the reaction was something I would have never expected to happen at school grounds.

"I'm really sorry Madame, I didn't want that to happen. I swear!"

"You blew up a whole room off! I don't care if it was an accident, you broke more rules in one day than any other student has in their whole time at Dalton!"

Ms. Terri was really scary when she got mad but this was a whole different level. She was screaming like a crazy person.

"I'm really, really sorry!"

"Shut up! You realize they can kick me out of this school for what you did back there?" All the room was watching me, probably judging me. This are the times I really wish the earth would open up below me. "That's it you're not getting out of this one, where's your whipping boy?"

Damn it, I forgot about that. I really didn't want Sam to get harmed for something I did, again. I quickly turned around and saw him; he looked as frightened as I was, if not even more.

"Get yourself over here, now!" It was almost impossible to predict what she would do to Sam but I was almost sure it wasn't going to be as simple as last time.

"Please, you don't have to do this!"

"Keep your mouth shut or I swear I'll pretend like you're not the damn prince and slap you silly with this!"

She took out the meter stick. I really couldn't bear watching this but it happened so quickly I wasn't able to close my eyes fast enough. Ms. Terri began hitting Sam savagely with the meter stick, I could see the pain in his face as each hit stroke his chest. The last blow was the one that got me; the meter stick landed a stick straight through his face with such strength that tumbled down to the ground.

"Alright class dismissed, leave immediately unless you want to end up like him."

Everyone picked their stuff and left the classroom. I really wanted to approach Sam to help him out; I realized that he was holding his nose with one hand. There was blood running down from it. Surprisingly enough, the blood wasn't what made me feel bad, it was the fact that he was crying due to the pain. As I said I wanted to help him but as usual someone did it before I could, unsurprisingly enough it was Sebastian.

"How can you stand there like and idiot while you're "friend" is laying on the ground? Are you that cruel?"

"I was about to help him!"

"Yeah right, you suck as a friend, as a student and you'll suck as a king." Apparently Sebastian wasn't the only person left in the room. "Face it "your highness" how do you even plan to take care of a whole kingdom when you can't even take care of your little pet?"

"Alright Hunter, that's enough. If you're going to fight with each other do it outside of my classroom. And would someone please clean that guy's blood from the floor? Last thing I need is a student's blood on my floor."

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"That was one nasty hit to the nose. Here let me get you cleaned up." Sebastian was definitively the nicest person I've had the pleasure of knowing, he was so caring and nurturing.

"You really don't have to do this."

"Hey, I'm doing it because I want you, besides you would have done the same for me."

"You're right."

He grinned back with that perfect smile of his. "Now you see what I meant? No matter how much Blaine tries to sell you that "_I'll protect you_" crap he says all the time, he'll always have you get hurt no matter what."

"Hey, I doubt he did that on purpose."

"Come on Sam, stop being so gullible. Off course he did it on purpose, who on their sane mind would blow up a whole room?" He had a point.

"Still, Blaine doesn't seem like the kind of guy to just hurt people just for the fun of it. I know him enough to tell he isn't mean spirited."

"Oh Sam, poor baby. You don't know the half of it; luckily you have me to warn you about this kind of stuff. Take my word for it Blaine doesn't care about you. I do."

"I know you do." While I don't think Blaine did that on purpose he does have reasons to do it. I was a complete ass with him earlier, he was just concerned about me and I blew him away. He's been just as kind with me as Sebastian has and after seeing the horrible way Hunter treats Kurt I can only be grateful of him.

"Well I got to get going, please have a doctor take a look on that nose. It's too pretty to be injured." Sebastian quickly smooched my cheek and left.

"Will do."

I-oOo-I

"I'm really sorry about that, I was stupid and I should have been the one who got hurt, not you."

"Calm down, I'm okay. It doesn't even hurt much now."

Blaine didn't seem to be buying that. "Your hand injury is barely healing and I'm pretty sure your chest is now just as bad."

"I can handle it, besides Sebastian helped a bit so you don't need to worry about that."

"Ugh, Sam please just drop him already. He'll do that to you as soon as he gets the chance. Better you do it yourself first than have him do it to you."

"Hey, you don't know him as I do. Don't say that."

"You got that wrong, you don't know him as I do and believe me it's not worth it."

"It's worth it to me, besides he's been nothing but caring and loving."

"What?"

Shit, I just blew my cover.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"Loving? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Was your ring always green?"

Envy.

"Don't try to change the subject. What did you meant buy "loving"?"

Sam sighed; he obviously didn't want me to know about this. "Promise me you won't get angry… Sebastian and I kissed yesterday during dinner. I really think he likes me and I like him back."

He fell for it. It was as if everything I said, every little detail I told him was in vain. He fell for it and now he was going to have to pay the price. "Hey as you said, if anything happens to you it's your problem, not mine."

He smiled. "Thanks for understanding." Poor deluded Sam.

The rest of the chariot ride back home was completely silent. The ring changed color once again. It was the first time while I wore it that I saw it turn red.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: First off thanks to all of the new followers and reviewers. I had some parts of this written already but all of your support encouraged me to finish it. I mainly had trouble while doing research on the properties of phosphorus (it was chemistry class all over again) but it was worth it (and yes, phosphorus can be made with urine as crazy as that sounds).**

**I kind of showed you some of the meaning of a few more colors the ring can produce and I love that aspect it's a lot of fun to come up with a different emotion for each color. Also no matter how much Sebastian lies to us about it, I decided to make warbler Nick straight even if I originally didn't intended too.**

**Finally after giving it much thought I decided to place Kurt as Hunter's whipping boy. I originally intended to have warbler Trent fill the spot but I decided to have him be one of the regular Dalton guys instead. Thanks again for all the love you've given this story I really appreciate it!**


	9. Role Play

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**As per usual, I'll like to thank my amazing beta reader for all of his time and effort! He also got to my knowledge that the story has been getting some Tumblr love and I can't thank you people enough. The only username who I remember at the moment is TheBlamBromance who has supported this story since the early chapters and I can't thank enough but I also appreciate the rest of you who have done the same. **

**I hope y'all enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

Sam had spent the rest of the evening on infirmary getting his nose fixed, luckily Santana dropped by the castle to keep me company. Besides I didn't feel like talking to Sam anyways.

"So she seriously beat him with the stick in front of everyone?"

"Yeah, it was like a public executions but you know, without actual dead people."

"Speaking about executions, couldn't you just get all the people that you don't like executed just for the laughs?" I've never been fond of Santana's dark humor but I'll admit I chuckled a bit with this one.

"Not really, the prince isn't allowed to execute anyone that's a perk only the king gets. Besides, I've tried to convince my dad to get Hunter beheaded a couple times before and it never worked."

"Well boo-hoo, what's the fun of being prince if you can't even execute those who you dislike?"

"If I only knew. I swear if I could just quit being the prince I would do it in a heartbeat. Same goes for my stupid arranged marriage."

"Oh I completely forgot to ask you, when do you finally get to meet the bride?"

God, I forgot about that. Even if I wasn't excited about it I had spent the last few days counting down the minutes for the dreaded day I got to meet my fiancé. "Actually, I think it is tomorrow."

I-oOo-I

"Damn, it still hurts like hell!"

"I told you already, touching it will only make things worse."

"Then how am I supposed to get rid of the itches?"

"Just ignore it them, a momentary annoyance is better than a constant suffering."

Sam gave me a bewildered look; it was as if what I said caught him by surprise. "Wow that was deep, sort off. Why so serious, though?"

Shoot, ever since Santana mentioned the marriage earlier today I couldn't get it out of my head. The fact that I wasn't masking it well enough just felt like recoil damage. "I'm just a bit worried."

"Hey if it's about the nose you got nothing to worry about, I guess I'll try to ignore the itchiness if it makes you feel better."

"I appreciate it but it's not really about that."

"Then what it is? You can tell me, I'm a good listener." He was right about that, I've told him more than what I would normally tell to the average person but then again Sam wasn't just an average guy.

"It's about this whole wedding mess."

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

"What about it?" I hate playing dumb but I just can't let Blaine know Sebastian told me about him liking guys; it would just make him hate Sebastian more, if that's even possible.

"It just doesn't feel right. I never planned on things going like these and I don't want it to happen."

"Blaine, I know it's hard but you got to remember life always plays cruel tricks on people. Things hardly go the way we planned."

I won't blame him if he had decided to stop talking or just walk away but seeing him smirk was more than what I could ask. "You make it sound so easy."

"Well I never really planned on leaving my family behind to come live with you but look at me now." It was true, as much as I might enjoy my new life here I still feel guilty for leaving my folks behind.

"Yeah… I'm sorry about that."

"Well don't be, just do as I'm doing. Cope with it and take it the best way possible, besides what's a relationship if not only the biggest friendship you will forge for the rest of your life?"

Blaine directed his caramel eyes my way. It was kind of hard not to feel something towards him; outside of the regal titles and fancy clothes Blaine was a truly beautiful creature, but it's purely platonic. Sebastian and I have something special and my mother didn't raise a cheater. "I suppose you can see it that way, but you need to understand my point as well. This is one of those situations you JUST know won't work out, no matter how much you want it to."

I understand, way more than you'll ever know.

I-oOo-I

"Whoa, who's that?" Judging by the expression on Blaine's face after hearing my comment he was just as unsure as I was, that was a first.

While I had known Blaine's teacher for just one day I was more than sure that no other teacher's gave our group class, so seeing the curly haired man standing it front of us was completely surprising.

When everyone else entered the classroom a short, nervous looking man walked and stood in front of the class right before breaking the silence. "Greeting students. As you may know Ms. Terri del Monico will be taking a break from teaching at the Dalton Academy and in her place we'll have Mr. William Schuester take her place. I'm sure everyone will do their best to make his stay here as pleasant as possible."

Our new teacher took center stage. "Thank you dean Figgins, I'm glad to be given the opportunity and I'm sure we'll all have a pleasant time." Well at least he looked a hell lot more positive about things than Ms. Terri.

I-oOo-I

After a brief introduction we learned that Mr. William Schuester, or Mr. Schue as he said he preferred to be referred as, used to be a travelling jongleur but decided to settle now once he met no other than Ms. Terri herself. If she was as loud mouthed outside of school as she was while here then Blaine and I were to have a hard time, luckily for us Mr. Schue didn't seem like the guy to hold a grudge. Due to his travels he had mastered a lot of different languages, mainly Spanish. After the meet-and-greet was over we continued to work on alchemy, I was actually was really starting to grow tired of it but it gave me an excuse to sit with Sebastian, plus the fact that this activity was in pairs meant that I didn't need to deal with Hunter.

"Sam, could you pass me the glass container?"

"Sure, what was the name of the liquid we're making?"

"Sulfur, remember what Mr. Schue said though, be careful because it can cause nasty burns."

I'm not even sure what the deal with the teachers here, first the explosive thing from yesterday and now these burning liquid? "Sure, thanks for the heads up."

Sebastian immediately began working on the mixture; I'm not sure if it was because he thought I wasn't capable of doing it myself or because he enjoyed doing it himself but he took matters to his own hands without even asking for assistance. If anything, Sebastian was a dedicated person and didn't mind doing whatever it took to fulfill a task.

"Um, do you want me to help you out? You've done an awful lot of work, I can take it from here if you want."

"Don't worry Sam, I don't mind. Besides if we want it to turn out perfect-" He stopped, I couldn't say I wasn't slightly offended but I assume my expression wasn't as discrete as I hoped. "I'm sorry, that was the wrong choice of words, but you know what I mean right?"

Sure, you aren't able to trust me with a simple schoolwork but why bother. "Sure, I get it. You keep mixing that, I'll be here in case you need anything."

I-oOo-I

I'll be the first to say that today was a pretty calm day; aside from the horrible odor from the sulfur there wasn't much wrong with it, well apart from Sebastian's lack of communication. Don't get me wrong I still like him, he's charming and caring and the cherry on top is that he's extremely attractive but today he seemed colder. I'm probably overreacting though, I mean he needs space and I respect that but curiosity is a double-edged sword.

"Hey Seb I just wondering, do you have anything planned for tonight? I know Blaine will be busy for the rest of the day so I thought it would be nice to-"

"It's sweet of you to ask Sam but I actually won't be able to do anything tonight, nor for the next couple of days. I promise you I'll try to make it back to you."

Sebastian seemed a bit rushed, classes had ended and we where just walking down the hall to leave the building so I couldn't think of anything that could make him so anxious.

"Don't you want at least a ride home then?"

I think all my pushing was making him cringe; I hate screwing things up but at least that way I know when to stop insisting over something. "Don't worry Sam, as a matter of fact I need to talk to the dean. Don't wait up, I'll see you on Monday."

"Alright, see you later then."

Sebastian walked the opposite direction and down one of the many hallways at the Dalton Academy. His pace was quick and if I didn't knew better it was as if he was heading towards something a lot more important than some words with the dean. That's when it struck me; during alchemy class I left my uniform's jacket hanging on one of the chairs. I could have easily just leave it there and ask for another one at the castle but I actually take care of what's given to me, at least back home it wasn't easy to get around fancy things like clothes and even if the environment was different at the castle I still wanted to keep my personal morals to myself. It was the closest thing I had left of McKinley.

While walking back to the classroom, which luckily was still unlocked, I took my jacket walked out but not before hearing some murmurs. The voices that produced them sounded way to familiar and while I'm not one to get into other person's business, the voices where just way too hard to ignore. As I got closer while still keeping my distance and in the stealthiest way possible I recognized one of the voices, it was Hunter's. Wise people say that you should keep away from thing you don't want to hear but I suppose I'm not that wise yet.

"You need to keep these up for at least until next week. It's all the time I need to get this plan on the run."

"I appreciate that you where kind enough to include me in your little scheme but I can't keep this charade up."

Sebastian. That's whom the second voice belonged too. What was this plan they where talking about?

"Oh please, you've got Prince Devon's little bitch wrapped around your finger. How hard can it be to keep playing the part until the substance gets ready?"

_Playing the part_?

"At first I thought it would be fun messing around with Blaine's friend but I just can't keep it up. He's getting way too clingy and besides he's just… I can't do this to him."

"Well look at you, Sebastian Smythe was able to grow a heart of his own."

"Shut up Hunter. Sam's just an innocent person and doesn't deserve to get hurt."

I'm confused now, Sebastian sounded just like the same caring person he's always been, how could Hunter be saying such things? Maybe he saw me while I walked in and is just messing around?

"Oh please, grow a pair Sebastian. You where the first one who wanted to get rid of the prince in the first place, don't tell me you're chickening out because you fell in love with some filthy peasant!"

"Could you just keep your mouth shut for a minute? You know more than anyone that I want Blaine to burn just as hard as you do but I don't see why someone else should suffer due to a piece of shit like Blaine. Besides you know I'm not in love with him, if anything I feel pity for him."

"Alright then, if you're so sure about yourself then just pretend to be for just a couple more days. I promise you that the results will be more than rewarding enough."

Blaine was right. How could I be so stupid?

"Very well, but make it quick. I'll keep my distance from Sam just to play it safe but promise me you'll get this done before Wednesday."

"You have me word."

Some say that just the strongest of men cry, but I think it takes more strength to keep the tears from rolling. Blaine was right all along: I'm sure this is the price one must pay for driving further into temptation, especially after being warned. I knew that walking away from there was the best idea, I just don't know why it took me so long to actually do it, if anything I would still be living the beautiful lie I was so joyously enjoying rather than the bitter truth that awaited there.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"Are you all right? You've been awfully quiet."

"I'm fine."

Sam had been looking through the window of the chariot the whole ride home. I knew he was lying but it seemed like the only logical thing to ask. If only I could know how he actually felt…

"Hey, your ring just fell off."

"Oh I didn't notice. Could you mind passing it to me? I would do it myself but you're closer anyways."

"Sure."

I hate lying but Sam's wellbeing is way more important right now. I pushed the ring out of my finger myself, now I just need to find and excuse for him to wear it.

"Here, just be more next time."

"I will, but first would you mind… trying it on?" Ok that probably the worst way to ask that, I'm such a bad liar when under pressure. Sam raised an eyebrow probably wondering where that stupid comment came from. "I just need to see if… we're the same finger size. You know in case you ever want to borrow some jewelry."

While I wouldn't have bought that, Sam seemed to be convinced enough. Just as he placed the ring on his fingers it took about a couple of seconds for the jewel on top to reflect Sam's true feelings in one color. Blue.

I-oOo-I

"Son, we're aware that your fiancé will be here any minute now so we decided that the best thing to keep things from going sour with Maiden Rachel of York would be to send Samuel back to McKinley for a couple of days. That way you'll be able to give your future wife all your attention and I'm sure Samuel will appreciate seeing his family again, it's been almost a week since his departure."

Damn it, how am I supposed to face all of this without Sam's support? Yet declining the offer would be a selfish act, I'm sure he'll dying to see his family once again and that' the least I could do.

"I… that sounds like a great idea."

"I knew you would cooperate."

While facing my father was rather awkward after the incident between us, I knew that staying mad at the king was a foolish decision. The least I could do was humor him, besides he was my father. One can't stay mad at their parents for long, it's not healthy.

"Well then, I'm glad to inform that I took the liberty of sending Samuel with out best knights guarding his chariot on the way to McKinley. You can be at ease about his safety."

Off course; dad was always two steps ahead of everyone, whether they liked it or not.

"Now without any further delay there's someone here's who's been dying to meet you."

Atop of the grand staircase stood, in one of the finest dresses I've ever laid eyes on, with beautiful long flowing locks of brown hair and equally maroon colored eyes, a beautiful woman. I swear, probably any man would succumb to her; she had quite an exotic beauty on herself. As she laid eyes on me her rosy lips formed a perfect smile, a shame all that beauty was to be wasted on someone who wasn't able to appreciate it to it's fullest.

She walked down the stairs elegantly before announcing. "Greeting your highness. I'm Maiden Rachel of York, it's an honor finally be able to meet you."

"The honor is all mine, my lady." I kneeled and kissed the top of her hand. I'll try my best to be as honest to her but I'd take my life before not acting with chivalry when speaking to a lady.

I-oOo-I

**A/N: I'm sorry it's taken so long to come with an update. I took a vacation to the Philippines and I must say people over there are so kind and lovely, totally worth it. So I feel this has been the worst written chapter, I took way too many liberties with the scene cuts and I'm deeply sorry if it's confusing for some to understand the change of scene at some points but the first two pages where pure hell for me to write, but at least I finally got to introduce both Sebastian and Hunter's plot point as well as Rachel into the story. Next chapter will be a lot of fun and I'm sure it will be just enjoyable to read as it was for me to write. Also thanks to an amazing friend of mine for helping me come up with a cover for the story, it's supposed to represent Blaine's mood ring and each character show there is emitting a different emotion (hence their color scheme), shame the picture can't be appreciated to it's fullest but, oh well. **

**Hope you're enjoying it!**


	10. Where the Wild Roses Grow

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**As per usual I'll like to thank my amazing beta reader for all of his time and effort, he's the greatest! **

**Enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Rachel's POV**

What a beautiful man. I never expected to marry someone like him when I got the news this was to be an arranged marriage. He's a prince after all but after hearing all those horror stories about inbreeding between royal family members I was expecting something completely different.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." The king said as he left the room leaving both of us to make the other company.

"May I interest you in a little tour of the kingdom? Dalton will be your home for the next couple of days so knowing it a bit better wouldn't hurt, besides I know no better tour guide than myself so you're in good hands."

"I'd love to, thank you." He's such a gentleman.

I-oOo-I

The kingdom of Dalton was huge. The main city where the castle and a couple other buildings laid was just a small portion of everything this new land had to offer. The coach ride through the kingdom had been nothing less than lovely; the prince really meant it when he said he knew his kingdom.

"And over there's the Lima Fields, that's where most of the crops of the land are grown. We've had a couple rough months with the droughts but hopefully the rain will come soon enough."

"You sure know a lot about the kingdom, your highness."

"Please, call me Blaine. All my friends do."

King Blaine and Queen Rachel? I like the sound of that, I wouldn't have given it much thought before but the fact that we are getting married soon is both exhilarating but also frightening in a way.

"So… friends right?"

"Oh I didn't mean it in a disrespectful way, after all we're getting… married."

"I didn't mean it that way either, Blaine. I'm just glad you'd rather become friends before actually marrying me. What's a marriage if not a prolonged oath to an eternal friendship?"

"I'm glad you think that way."

The prince seemed sweet but apparently this was a sensible topic for him. I placed my hand on top of his; he flinched as soon as he felt my hand touching his. He quickly looked at me, poor thing he was just, if not a lot more terrified about this as I.

"I'm sorry about that. It was just a wrongly executed reflex, I meant no disrespect."

"No, I'm sorry. It was a reckless thing to do, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." The prince just gave me a slightly uncomfortable smile and then looked down while the ride continued.

I really wanted to say something else, anything but I knew things would only get a lot more awkward between us. I didn't want to ruin thing again, this was my chance to start over and prove myself that I wasn't the reason things with Jesse went sour.

"So I heard you're into arts, right?"

"I am quite fond of them yes. How about you?"

"I am as well, even if I haven't actually been deeply part of any form of it. My father thinks entertainment is something royalty is meant to watch, not take part of."

"Well that's one way to see it but I doubt I would be able to live without singing. To me it's one of those aspects that really add passion to my existence, as corny as it sounds."

He smiled. Dental care was pretty scarce around the land but apparently Blaine had either the money or the lineage to pull of a perfect, pearly, bright smile. "It's not corny, I understand what you mean. I've never really tried it, at least to the point of acknowledging as actual singing but I've desired to do so greatly for as long as I can remember. I have a high esteem for people who can hold a tune, which I'm sure you can do, I mean you have a lovely voice and I can only imagine how amazing it might sound when singing."

He has such a natural charm to him. I'll admit I'm not one to deny a compliment but when he says it I don't feel pride, it feels a lot more sincere. "You flatter me your highness but I'm sure you would be just a good."

"I doubt it, practice make perfect and sadly that's something I've lacked for a good amount of years to be considered competent."

"Then what are you passionate about? There's got to be something."

He gave it a bit of thought and that kind of bewildered me, if someone asked me that I would know my answer in a heartbeat. "Well I've developed a knack for archery and enjoy the sword practices a whole lot more than what I envisioned before actually starting."

Nodding and smiling seemed like the most polite way to "_answer_" back, considering he didn't answer my question. From the couple hours I've been with him I've saw two different sides of the same coin, at first glance Blaine seems so polite, proper and imposing but just like anyone else he can also be insecure, doubtful and scared.

He looked back at me. "I'm sorry this whole ride has been a wreck Rachel."

"What are you talking about? It's been just fine, besides things never work out the way we plan them. Where's the fun in that?" If someone had told me two years ago I'd be saying a phrase like that I would have never bought it, I used to be a huge perfectionist but one has to learn to think otherwise no matter how hard the method becomes.

"Still, let me make it up to you. I know a place we can talk at peace, it's also one of my favorite places."

I-oOo-I

Roses. My favorite flower for a reason, they are beautiful, boastful and really imposing yet they are also dangerous and strong, the perfect balance between beauty and power. I suppose they are what every person aspires to become, great beauty but also the power and strength that goes with it.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

"It is."

We had taken a long ride, it honestly didn't feel like one but it was. Blaine asked for the chariot to wait for us farther away and we took the rest of the trip by feet. We crossed a small creek and reached a small piece of land surrounded by water. It was like a small island in the middle of land but the waterways surrounding it where too thin to even be considered rivers. The "_island_" was actually a really small hill with a big elm tree on top; the shade it produced covered the whole piece of land for the rays of the sun. The whole place was covered with wild rose bushes. Some flower heads where floating on the small creek surrounding the piece of land, the sight of all that was beautiful. The cherry on top of the cake had to be the sight of the kingdom from far away, it looked so small from a distance. The whole valley that surrounded the kingdom just made it look smaller but all that green combined with the blue sky covered with cotton like clouds was for sure one of the prettier sights I've had the pleasure to witness. The breeze that flew through the plains just added to it.

"How did you discover this place?"

"There's not much to do in the castle so wandering about is probably the best way to kill time. If I'd knew I would be able to find gems like this place I would have done it a lot earlier."

"Well I'm glad you did, I can't remember the last time a panoramic view evoked so much joy in me."

"I'm glad you liked it. People say that the most beautiful placer lay where the wild roses grow, I guess they're right."

"You know something? I've always preferred wild roses to regular roses. The normal ones look a lot more elegant and fancy but the wild roses, while not as refined in looks, sure look a lot more happy and relaxed."

Blaine grinned. "You're right, what's the point of looking so regal when you're not being true to yourself?

"Exactly."

We had been sitting down ever since we arrived but before we noticed we where both lying on the ground. The grass was soft and the rays of light kept us warm.

"I've thought about this for a while now but couldn't find the best moment to say it, you're a remarkable and beautiful woman Rachel. You really deserve a lot better than what I have to offer."

"Why do you say that?"

"I never really appreciate what I'm given, you're way too precious to be wasted in someone like me."

I really hate when people degrade themselves while trying to gain me over yet Blaine seemed so vulnerable while doing it that I actually fell for it. "I'm sure it will work out, so far you've done a fantastic job."

"I don't want to risk ruining it, because believe me it will happen."

"What's life without risks?" He kept silent; still I could tell he was in the same posture about the matter as he was before. "Besides if it's such a big deal I don't worry about it, I can teach you."

"I'm a bad student."

Feisty, I like that.

I-oOo-I

Before we knew it we both fell asleep on the valley and by the time we woke-up dusk was already taking over. The whole ride home was a lot more entertaining than what I expected from it. Blaine told me about his friends at Dalton, he spoke highly of them. Apparently there where this two guys at school, Nick and Jeff who he had been friends with for a long time. There was also this girl, Santana, who he also had known for a while now. She was the one who gave him that strange ring he wore, I really don't know what was up with that thing but I could never really tell what color was the jewel that adorned it. Finally there was this boy, Sam, who he spoke really highly off. From what he told me he had everything one could had asked for, beauty, brains and personality. He smiled quite a bit when mentioning him, they had to be pretty close friends because I had never seen him so relaxed or elated before but when he mentioned him it was as if Blaine's whole problems when down the drain. Once we arrived at the castle we ate dinner and the maids helped me unpack most of my stuff.

"Son, why don't you show your fiancé to her chamber?" The king asked, I could tell he was pretty happy about saying that.

"Should I ask the maids to clean the guest room before I get her there?"

"Hah! Look at you, always the comedian. I meant her new room as in the room you'll both share, you're getting married after all. It's better to get the intimacy going as soon as possible, that way when you both are finally ready to-"

"Alright dad, we get it. No need to get graphic about it." The king chuckled while the queen just rolled her eyes.

"Don't let the old man intimidate you Rachel, he's just glad you finally arrived."

I simply gave a polite smile and walked away with Blaine. He was still blushing and probably uncomfortable about his father's comment.

"I'm sorry about that, dad can be a bit pushy at times."

"Don't worry, it tends to happen."

Once we arrived at the room Blaine showed me the dressing room and I got my nightgown on and came out as quickly as possible. Bad idea. Once I walked out I noticed Blaine thought I was going to take a lot longer and decided to do his changing while on the room. He had barely put on his pants and he was still shirtless and whatever stuff he used on his hair was starting to wear out so his natural curls where beginning to show. I've seen enough brutish looking men to know those aren't my type and looking at Blaine that way was just rectifying my decision. His body was chiseled perfectly and his unruly haired just added more to the charm, a wild rose indeed.

"Oh my, this is embarrassing."

"Blaine, how could it be embarrassing? You're perfect."

He blushed while trying to mask a proud smile. "Still it's not appropriate, I just thought you would take a lot longer."

"I suppose I should have let you know, sorry about that." Still I regret nothing.

"Well I suppose we should sleep now, I still got a lot to show you tomorrow." Blaine said as he putted the shirt on. The whole time we where together earlier I saw Blaine as a sweet, lovable boy but seeing this just reminded me he was also a red blooded man and if this marriage was supposed to work I needed to remember that. His father also had a point, intimacy was an important part of a relationship and start thinking about didn't seem like such a bad idea.

We both laid on the bed and kept ourselves comfortable. "Today was a lovely day Blaine, thank you."

"A lady like you deserves the best."

That's it; it was now or never, as soon as he finished I gave him a good night kiss. He seemed tired to proposing the idea of getting down to it would have been both uncalled for and quite rushed but locking lips didn't require much energy and to be honest it felt great. I apparently caught him by surprise but his lips where really soft and as redundant as it sounds, kissable. But what really caught my attention where his eyes, the color of those two orbs where just so beautiful. Caramel colored and quite mesmerizing, even if Blaine couldn't really tell me what was his passion those eyes reeked with it.

"Good night, my prince."

"G-good night…"

I-oOo-I

**A/N: Chapter ten already? Time does go quick! While I wanted to add some of Blaine's opinions on the chapter I felt Rachel deserved the spotlight. I also wanted to remind (those few who might even forget) that as much as Blaine gushes over Sam's beauty, Blaine is also a sexy beast himself and I felt Rachel could be the perfect way to transmit the message (at least until Sam decides to do it himself). Finally, if you can't tell by the title I took inspiration from the song "Where the Wild Roses Grow" for some bits (and I'll continue to do so for some portions of the story). Once again thanks everyone for your love and support, I wish the same to y'all.**

**Hope you're enjoying the ride!**


	11. Little White Lies

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; characters belong to their respective owners.**

**As per usual I'll like to thank my amazing beta reader for all of his time and effort, he's the greatest! **

**Enjoy!**

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

I'm really glad I had the chariot for myself; it makes the crying a lot less embarrassing. I really hate Sebastian, a few days ago I would have been ecstatic about returning to McKinley if only for a few minutes but now I can't even enjoy the ride because of him. Blaine was right and I deserve this for not listening to him, he's my one and only true friend at Dalton and not listening to him was just as foolish as falling for a snake like Sebastian.

Now that I think about it, everything that Sebastian told me were probably lies. I bet that Nick guy isn't actually in love with Blaine, which just means Blaine's not into guys either. He's with his to-be wife at the moment after all. Damn it, how blind can I be? Maybe I'm just as stupid as everyone at McKinley said I was…

It was getting dark already, which just proved how long the ride had been, and the knights the king sent to protect the chariot where still surrounding the vehicle which just meant that there was still a long way to go. Suddenly the chariot stopped and a knock was heard.

"Sir? We need you to come out for a bit."

"Coming." I really wasn't in the mood to go out, I tried to clean the remaining tears and being myself together to try to look less pathetic than how I actually felt.

"Sir!"

"I'm coming!" The knights where quite disciplined but also pretty impatient, when they gave an order it had to be done as soon as possible unless you had enough patience to stand their nagging. "Here I am, what's going on?"

"We need you to sign this trespassing documents, it's just a security measure every citizen of Dalton is required to do so we can keep track of the number of residents who are currently out of the main kingdom."

"Alright hand them over, I'll fill them in while on the chariot."

"I'm afraid that's not possible sir, we need you to fill them alongside a royal knight. It's just to keep things legitimate."

Damn this whole security measures. "Can't one of you just come inside with me then? It's pretty dark here outside, at least the chariot has a lantern inside."

"Very well." The knight quickly analyzed the other four knights who where there with us. It seemed pretty ridiculous really, how hard can filling a pile of papers be? "Kid, you're up."

As soon as he said that one of the knights, quite tall by the way, got off his horse and took his helmet off. He was quite the looker, also pretty young to be a knight. For some reason his face seemed familiar, I knew I had seen him at Dalton before but couldn't figure out where. "What's my duty captain?"

"Just make sure all information on those papers is truthful and correctly filled." The young knight seemed rather bummed about having to fulfill quite a dull order. "Hey, don't look at my like that, it's not every day a knight get's to ride the royal chariot. Today's your lucky day, Hudson."

As we got back on the chariot and we continued to advance I started to fill in the documents. They where fairly simple, it asked for name, family name, age, the basic stuff. I didn't really know why someone needed to verify if this had been filled in correctly, it was simple enough.

"Damn, this seats are comfortable." The knight said. I actually got him, the first time I rode the chariot the seats also got me. Besides I'm sure they're a whole lot better than the saddle they sat on while riding their horses.

"They are also amazing to take naps."

"You royal guys sure know how to live. If I had one of this I wouldn't even consider getting up."

"Well I'm not actually royalty…"

"Oh right, you're the prince's… companion." Apparently calling me whipping boy was considered rude, I didn't mind it but most people preferred to refrain from calling me that or at least that's what I noticed.

"Yeah, pretty much. But I agree, this sure is the dream life."

"Would you mind if I bunk here with you for a bit? I don't want to seem lazy but today was a pretty rough day."

"Umm, sure. I'm pretty much done with this papers but I can wait for us to arrive to McKinley. I'm sure you're quite tired."

"Thanks mate, you don't know how tiring it is to fill double duty on the stable as well."

"Knights need to work on the stables as well?"

"This one does." He stretched his hand towards me. "Finn Hudson, it a pleasure."

"Sam Evans, like wise." I shook his hand; he had quite the strong grip. Finn looked easily a year older, maybe two, than me but I had seen him somewhere before, the fact that I couldn't remember really bothered me.

"Your eyes look quite swollen, are you alright?" No I'm not, I had spent the last hours or so crying my eyes out.

"I'm fine, it's probably just from the rough wake-up." Apparently he bought it as he just nodded and turned around for a bit. "I'm sorry if this sounds out of place but, have we met before?"

My comment caught him by surprise I don't blame him though. "Not that I recall. Maybe you have seen me around the castle before? I'm… well I'm not particularly proud of it but I'm actually the castle's stable boy. I just got recruited as a knight recently." Stable boy? I think Blaine could have mentioned him once or twice before but I had never ventured into the stables or actually much out of the main halls and the guest room. "I'm also from McKinley but to be honest I don't remember seeing you there before."

"Yeah, neither do I. Still it's nice to know there's another person from McKinley at the castle. Aren't you excited to go back?"

Finn grinned, his eyes rolled a bit upwards as if he was remembering something. "Yeah, kind of. One of the perks of being the stable boy is getting to loan the horses so I do a weekly visit just to keep in touch with everyone. Getting to see my girl is really worth the long ride. How about you, any one waiting for you back there?"

"Just my family, it hasn't been that long really but a week can be enough to host big changes. I just hope everyone's doing alright."

I-oOo-I

"Oh my god, Sam is that you?" Quinn's eyes where as wide as they could be but her mouth formed an enormous smile.

"Surprised?"

"Can't you tell by my face? Oh my god Sam. I though I would never see you again." She wrapped me in a tight hug.

"You can't be serious, did you really think I would let them take me if they didn't even let me visit you, right?"

"Off course not. How long will you be here?"

"Just for the remaining of the day, sadly." Yesterday the knights decided to take a break and we spent the night near a camping site so we arrived at McKinley at, perhaps, late morning or early afternoon, I really didn't ask for the time.

"Well let's make the most out of our time then."

"Do you mind if I catch up with you later? I wanted to visit my folks for a bit, just want to check on them quickly." Quinn's face now looked uneasy, it was the sort of face she did when she knew something she wasn't sure about telling. "What's the matter Q, everything alright?"

"I assumed you knew. With all the money the royal family gave them for your… services, your father invested in a new mill and that caught some merchant's attention."

"Quinn cut the chase, just tell me what happened!"

"Your father got a new job at a different region and your family moved out four days ago."

They moved out? But… did they really leave me without any notice? Did they really just abandon me…?

"I know it's hard for you Sam but it was just as hard for them."

"Was it really? They let some strangers take me away and now they run away?"

"Come on Sam you know that's not true."

"They care for you, they just saw a good opportunity they couldn't let pass."

"At my expense? What gives?" I wasn't normally one to scream but this news were just too much for me to take, besides part of me was still upset about the whole Sebastian thing so that also probably had to do with it.

"Calm down, you know they're good people and they did what they had to do so they could give your siblings a better life!"

"B-but…" Quinn was right, Stevie and Stacy deserve better than what they had but the thought of being alone filled me with distraught. I felt the tears running down my face but I wasn't ashamed, with all the crap going on in my life I couldn't figure another way to let it all out. The only silver lining was having Quinn with me, she was all I had left about my old life in McKinley and luckily for me, her comfort was all I needed.

I-oOo-I

"He really said that? What a prick. He doesn't deserve you."

"You really think that?"

"Of course I do, any decent person would agree with me."

I had spent the last couple minutes telling Quinn most of my life while at Dalton, seeing her react to all the different experiences was quite amusing. "Thanks Q, that has been messing with my head lately and I really needed to let it out."

"No problem, that's what I'm here for. Now, would you like your meat roasted or just midterm?"

"Surprise me." Ever since her father left the house, Quinn's mom had to take a job to sustain the family and she had to assume her role. She was an amazing cook and as my mother used to say, food's the best medicine.

Before she continued cooking, a loud knocking was produced at the door. Quinn quickly rushed towards the door and opened it. "It was about time you decided to show up."

"Hey better late than never, besides you honestly thought I would risk not seeing this beautiful face for a whole week?" Color me amused, out of all the people I knew I didn't expect it being him. "Besides, I pampered up a bit before coming to visit you. My special girl deserves only the best."

"You certainly have a way with words, Sir Hudson."

Apparently my surprise was more than evident because just as quickly as Finn appeared outside Quinn's house, the lovely moment both of them where sharing got interrupted by Finn looking my way. "Whoa, Sam?"

"You guys know each other?" Now Quinn was just as confused as both of us where.

"Barely, do you?"

"Off course I do, I wouldn't have him seating inside my house if I didn't knew him."

"You never told me you where seeing someone Q." I was shocked, I thought there where no secrets between us.

"Well you never asked…"

"What kind of excuse is that? I've never kept secrets from you!"

"Hey watch your tone when speaking to a lady, mate."

"If she was a lady, or a friend for that matter, she wouldn't have kept this from me!" Finn seemed offended but I really couldn't care less, I shifted my attention towards Quinn. "I literally just told you my life like an open book, how could you do this to me? Without my family here who am I supposed to trust now?"

"Sam calm down, you're overreacting. I was going to tell you but it just slipped my thoughts."

"Well, how long has this been going one then?"

Both Finn and Quinn looked at each other a bit nervously. "A couple of months at the most…"

"Oh my god, Quinn you're unbelievable!"

"Sam, you realize how silly you're behaving considering the situation?"

"And you aren't?"

Finn quickly intervened once again. "Hey man, please watch your tone. Didn't you mother teach you any manners?"

"Don't you dare talk about my mother, stable boy!"

I might have struck a chord with Finn, he now looked angrier than ever and if it hadn't been for Quinn standing between us thing would have gotten a lot worse. "Both of you keep quiet! Sam if you're going to continue to act like a madman I'd rather have you leave my house, immediately."

"Alright maybe I will, I just want you to know that I've just told you how much secrets and lies have screwed my life over and it still wasn't enough for you to act like a real friend. I honestly hope you're able to sleep at night knowing that because if I had been the one to do that I doubt I would even be able to close my eyes without the guilt consuming me!" Apparently my words where quite strong and they got to Quinn, not wanting to confront Finn I just slammed the door on my way out.

I-oOo-I

It had been some hours since I left Quinn's house but the thoughts and memories of all the lies and deceptions that I had lived through the last two days where still roaming my thoughts. Sebastian's lying, my family's departure and now Quinn keeping secrets from me, maybe I'm just as naïve as ever and people know they can take advantage of that, but not anymore. No more blindly believe in anyone; no more trust giving, and especially no more falling for false promises.

The door of the chariot knocked, probably the driver or a knight letting me know we're leaving. "Sam, it's me. Could you come out? I know you're there." Or not.

"What do you want Quinn?"

"Please come out, I… I'm really sorry for what happened earlier. I really didn't consider all you had been through and I get why you're mad but believe me, that wasn't my intention."

Yeah right, I wouldn't fall for that all over again but still I could at least make her the favor of coming out of the vehicle. "Then why did you keep it from me? Weren't you the one who said friend's tell each other everything?"

"It's just that this is more complicated than what it appears."

"I'm not buying that unless you prove it to me."

Quinn gave out a dramatic sigh and looked quickly at both of her sides as if to watch in case anyone besides us was hearing the conversation. "I… you remember Noah? The guy you where crushing on back when you lived here a couple years ago?"

"Yeah, what about him?" I really don't know where this conversation was heading to; Noah had left the village for months, maybe even years.

"Well, there was this time Finn didn't come visit for weeks, almost a month and I really thought he abandoned me. Noah came back to the village because he discovered his father didn't actually died but actually left and went with another woman. He came back to McKinley in hopes to end with the life of the woman who destroyed his family but he wasn't able to do so once he discovered she had given birth to a child. He didn't have the heart to destroy another's kid's life."

"That's actually pretty tragic, how come you never told me Noah came back?"

"You always helped your father running the mill, we barely saw each other for the last couple of months while you still lived here."

"Well but what how does that have to do with anything?"

Quinn took a deep breath before continuing. "The point is I was lonely, Noah was devastated and we found comfort in each other..." Her voice began to break as I began to understand where this was going. "I-I'm pregnant Sam, and the baby's not Finn's. I r-really didn't want to hurt him."

Crap, it was really something serious, no wonder I had noticed Quinn began gaining a bit of weight lately but I didn't dare mention it. "How long have you known?"

"P-probablly a couple of months, t-two at the most. But please promise me you won't tell Finn."

I really hated lying, but if anything else, this just showed me that sometimes secrets could prevent someone from getting hurt. "You have my word."

I-oOo-I

**A/N: Got another chapter done! I was really reluctant about writing this chapter but I think backstory is necessary for any type of writing. I wanted to introduce Finn as Hunter's whipping boy originally but opted to give Kurt the role so now he's a knight. Also a little insight on Quinn's life while kind of following the show's canon and the story's canon (remember I addressed Sam's crush on Puck on the first chapters). Now next chapter will be one I've been wanting to write for a while now, things will start picking up pace and the angst will pop it's ugly head once again but until then I hope you're enjoying the ride and thanks again for your love and opinions, it really makes my day and helps me make a better story for y'all.**

**See you all soon!**


	12. Lost In Your Eyes

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, all characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I'll like to thank my amazing beta reader, I know he's been busy lately but he still takes the time to check the writings I send him. **

**Hope you're enjoying the story so far!**

**I-oOo-I**

**Blaine's POV**

"Morning sunshine!" It had been two days since Rachel's arrival but waking up with someone by my side still felt like a new experience for me.

"Morning."

"Did you get a good night sleep?"

"I did, thanks for asking. What about you?"

"Same here." She gave me one of her delightfully beautiful smiles; I doubt anyone could get tired of that. "So when will I get to meet him?"

"Meet who?"

Rachel giggled. "Your best friend, silly. You do remember your parents said Sam would be back here sometime by midnight, right? You've talked wonders about him so I would really like to see if he's as amazing as you make him to be."

"You sure seem pretty energetic, considering it's pretty early in the morning."

"The early bird catches the worm." Rachel winked before getting up on her feet. "Also today's Monday so remember you need to get ready for school." Crap, school! During this time I had forgotten I actually had other responsibilities other than spend time with my future wife.

"Excuse the question but wouldn't you mind being alone while I'm at the Academy?"

"Don't worry, I got some schooling of my own. My parents decided to send my tutor with me just so I could still be up to date with my lessons. Ms. Pillsbury is an amazing teacher, I would really love for you to take classes with me but I doubt we're seeing the same topics anyways."

"Oh, I wasn't aware of that. I'm glad you'll have something to keep yourself busy with, I hate keeping a lady waiting."

Rachel giggled once again, the sound of her voice was charming but it was really the sight of her happiness that made me feel warm inside. "You're such a gentleman. Well I suppose I won't keep you from getting ready any longer. You still owe me a meeting with Sam, though."

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind. I'm sure he's dying to meet you as well."

I-oOo-I

**Sam's POV**

Sleeping had been rough; I really thought going back to McKinley was going to be something to look forward to, but boy was I wrong. Between all the mess going on with Quinn, my parents leaving and Finn giving me dirty looks the whole ride back to Dalton after my outburst at Quinn's I was barely able to stay at peace. Luckily today's a new day so here's hoping things go better.

Steady knocks came from my room's door, they weren't Blaine's though, his where a bit more firm so it was probably a maid. "Sir, I have your uniform ready for you!"

"Coming!" I rushed from the bed to my room, as I opened the door Tina, the clumsy maid from some days ago, handed me over my Dalton Academy uniform.

"Breakfast is served and the carriage is already waiting for both of you outside." Tina said quickly. "I would hurry if I where you."

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be there in a minute."

I-oOo-I

"I really was expecting the whole thing to go awry but Rachel's really something else." Blaine seemed really happy about the whole marriage thing now, or at least he became better at masking his deception but from the way he described this Rachel girl it did seem like he was over it. "I would love for both of you to meet sometime soon, you're both really important for me so it would really mean a lot."

"Sure it would be a pleasure, besides I got to check it this girl is deserving of my friend's hand." Blaine chuckled, maybe it was wishful thinking but I think I caught a slight blush in his cheeks as well.

"Come on Sam, not even my mom's that worried about it. Besides I'm pretty sure you'll both get along just fine."

"If she want's to marry you then she better try because I'm here to say."

Blaine looked astonished after I said that and I'll admit I even got surprised myself. "Wow I'm flattered but I thought you didn't like it here, well at least when compared to your hometown."

"Well… things change. Going back to McKinley just made me realize things here are a bit more in order. I'm sure going to miss my old life back there but there's nothing I can do about it anymore other than just accept the fact that it will be nothing more than a pleasant memory."

"Wow that's… deep. Where thing all right back home? How's your family doing?"

I really don't know and I doubt I'll ever will. "They're fine, I guess."

Blaine laid his hands on top of mine. "Hey, if you need someone to talk to about something, anything, just tell me. We've known each other for a mere week but you're already family to me and the bond between families is something sacred. I know you surely miss your real family but while at Dalton I'll do my best to be the family you need."

I really don't know how he does it but he always knows what to say to make me feel better, and he was right even if my family moved away to a different land Blaine's all the family I have left but luckily he's all I need.

"Look at you, you're smiling again."

Blaine was right but what he didn't know was the reason why, while what he said made me feel better I took a minute to get lost inside his beautiful caramel eyes. I'm probably a masochist but if leading myself into an inevitable love deception is the price I have to pay to take a peek into those windows of perfection he holds then I'll take the risk.

I-oOo-I

"Haven't seen you in a while, how has my favorite blonde been?" I wasn't really sure I was going to be able to handle seeing Sebastian so soon after what happened on Friday but to be completely honest I don't care anymore. "You look awfully serious today, anything wrong?"

If he only knew, I have to give it to him though he's an excellent actor, if I didn't knew better I would actually believe he's concerned about me. "I'm fine, now could we please continue the activity?"

"Looks like someone woke-up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"Please Sebastian, I just want to get this over with. Besides the sulfur is starting to smell."

"Come on Sam lighten up, you're complaining about foul smells when everyday you have to endure that awful cologne Blaine pours on himself? Give me a break."

"Take that back!"

"I will not, besides what the hell's wrong with you have you lost your mind?"

Lying snake, I would really just tell him myself but he and Hunter have something up their sleeves that apparently involves Blaine and I need to find out. I can't risk blowing off my cover, besides since he's so much into his role I might as well join his little acting game. "Remember he's my friend, there's no need to throw petty insults at him."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Just don't get all moody like that again, you scared me for a while."

We continued with the assignment and everything went just as how it was supposed to, Sebastian was all hands-on with it while I just helped from the sidelines. What really bothered me was the strong smell from the sulfur, it was starting to get a lot more unbearable and I was getting quite lightheaded. "Damn…"

"What's wrong?"

"I… would you mind if I go out for a bit? I'm not feeling that well."

"You sure look paler than usual. If it keeps you from throwing up on me be my guest."

Had he always been this cynical? I suppose whoever said love was blind was right, or at least right enough for me, I can't believe I was that blind. Sebastian's a big time jerk when he tries.

I-oOo-I

**Blaine's POV**

"So is she hot?"

"Stop it Nick, I told you I don't feel comfortable talking about my fiancé in front of other people!"

"Whoa, take it easy mate. Besides you where the one to bring it up in the first place."

"Indeed, I brought up the topic about her personality, not her assets." I glared at Nick who in turn just shrugged.

"Whatever, I was just curious."

"Well put all that curiosity into finishing on this experiment."

"Whatever you say, boss." Nick then began mixing the ingredients into the sulfur. "So, what about Santana? Is she interested?"

"Damn it Nick!"

Unaware of my reaction it took me a bit to realize I pounded the table and apparently that was enough to startle Nick, who dropped a bit of sulfur, which fell into my uniform's jacket.

"Hey what's going on?" Mr. Schuester asked with a slightly angered tone.

"Nothing really, some sulfur fell into my jacket and-"

"Blaine, I need you to go into the bathroom and wash that off! Sulfur is highly acidic and really dangerous if it gets in contact with your skin. You're lucky it was just your clothes that got smeared with it. Now go!"

I did as he said. I took my jacket off and rushed my way into the nearest bathroom. As soon as I got there I began washing the acidic fluid off my uniform. As quickly as I could, I finished washing it off but then something else distracted me. Moans where coming from one of the stalls. Quite familiar to be honest, possibly Jeff's?

"Who's there?"

"Blaine? Is-s that you-u?

"Sam?" What is he doing here?

"P-please don't come in. It's n-not pretty." As soon as he finished a belch was heard followed by other grotesque sounds.

"Are you alright? Do you need any help?"

"I t-think I'm sick. The stupid sulfur was just way too-" He barfed once again, from the sound of it he was being honest because it certainly didn't sound pretty.

"Hold on, I need to take you to the nurse's office. I'm sure they'll know how to make it stop."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't take it the wrong way but from the sound of it you're in no position to oppose."

"I guess you're right, I just hope I can make it there without throwing up."

"Hey, worst case scenario you throw up in me, and even if that's completely repulsing, I won't get mad at you and it might get us an excuse to leave school earlier."

"I like the way you think." Sam then came out of the stall, his normally rosy skin was quickly loosing its glow as well as his enormous yet delightful lips. "Do I look as bad as I think I do?"

"Well, I think you probably do."

Sam gave me a weak smile. "Well at least you're being honest with me."

"Here put your arm around my shoulder, I'll help you walk there."

As we made our way out of the bathroom Sam began talking again, which I assume could only be a good sign. "God I feel so dizzy. I've never drank any fine whine or liquor but I'm pretty sure this is how people feel when drunk."

"Pretty much, try not to push yourself. We don't want any accidents."

"I'll try."

As we continued walking we came close to our classroom, which meant we where basically two rooms away from the nurse's office. Sadly, Sam was now limping and he was a lot heavier than before. I really hope those workouts pay off, as I really don't want to fall down and drop him.

"Blaine, I'm not feeling well." Please don't barf, please don't barf.

"Hold on Sam, we're just a few steps away."

"I don't think I can, I need to lay down." Sam then wrapped both his arms around me as if he tried to use me as a foundation to stay on his feet but I wasn't able to carry all of his weight for longer. Sam fell to the ground before I fell on top of him, his arms still binding me. While not bothered by the fall itself I was way to close to his face, specifically his mouth, to feel comfortable. Sam was breathing heavily while I prayed for his stomach to be strong enough to contain his body fluids.

The sound of our classroom door startled me and much to my misfortune, Sebastian walked out into us. I knew I was already terrified but looking at him directly in the eyes just made it a lot more petrifying. I knew the look on his face, he was as furious as the devil himself and I knew there was going to be hell to pay. "What exactly are you doing on top of my boyfriend?"

"He was feeling sick and I was going to take him to the nurses office to-"

"Shut it Blaine, you just can't give me a break do you? As long as you see I'm happy you decide to intervene and ruin everything don't you?"

"Hey calm down, I'm helping him and doing a lot better than you considering you're his so called "boyfriend"."

"Well I was about to go look for him."

"Well it's too late, I'm already doing that. Now please, if you're not going to help out please stay out of this."

Sebastian's face was red with anger, if looks could kill I would have been dead already. He didn't even say a thing before he turned around and slammed the door right behind him. The sound was quite loud and I could hear from inside the classroom Mr. Schuester lecturing him. At least he was out of our way now.

"Come on Sam, wake-up. We need to get you to the nurse's office." I poked his arms, he twitched and slowly regained his senses.

"Did we just fall down?"

"Yeah, it was just a minor incident. Are you able to get up or would you rather have me call the nurse and come pick you up?"

"Nah, I'll walk. Thanks for helping me out though. I literally just blacked out, good thing I had my guardian angel looking out for me."

"Heh, yeah you're one lucky guy."

"I sure am."

I-oOo-I

It had been a while since Sam had been inside the nurse's office and after the class ended I decided to go to the bathroom once again just to wash off any remaining sulfur from my jacket.

While rising everything out the bathroom's door opened. I wasn't able to initially tell who it was but after a few minutes I realized it was Sebastian once again. He still had that frightening expression of anger on his face and he walked my way.

"You know Blaine, it took me a while to get over you."

"Please Sebastian, don't make this any harder than how it should."

Apparently he ignored me as he continued. "It's pretty hard to get over someone when he's there every damn day of your fucking existence you know."

"Sebastian please, it wasn't what it looked like. Sam really likes you and he's no cheater."

"I know he isn't, you are." His tone stayed as monotone and serious during this whole time, I'm actually getting a bit scared. "You know, Sam had been so sweet with me before today? Today he told me quite a few awful things in quite an aggressive tone and even defended you, come on tell me that's not weird, I dare you."

"Sebastian come on, just listen to reason."

"You always had a pair of really beautiful eyes. Probably the most gorgeous ones I've even seen. I dare say even prettier than mine." Okay this is just getting scarier and scarier. "When I saw you with Sam today I really wanted to do nothing more than just crave them out of your face with my bare hands."

"Are you listening to yourself? You're talking like a crazy person. Come on Sebastian don't let hatred blind you so much."

"I rather be blinded by hate, you my friend will just be blind."

His mouth formed a sinister grin as if he was about to enjoy the biggest pleasure in life. I notice he had one hand on his pocket ever since he walked inside the room, yet it began to come out into the light and what it held was what got me frightened to the core. Sebastian had one small tube of the sulfuric acid we had been working with during our alchemy class and he aimed it directly to my face. I already knew what was coming; yet my reaction was mortally slow probably because I was still petrified by fear.

One time when I was younger, I accidentally sat on top of an ant hole. After a few minutes I realized the ants where waling down my arms and in a matter of seconds they where stinging me furiously, it had probably been my most painful experience ever. Well, what was going on now was just like that, only a hundred times worse. I could almost feel the acid corroding my skin and eyeballs. I really didn't want to look as vulnerable as I was, especially in front of Sebastian, but the pain had been the triumphant one this time.

"Hush Blaine, screaming won't solve anything. Believe me, it pains me to see those beautiful eyes of you go but I'm sure it's not as painful as what you're going through right now." I felt Sebastian kissing my forehead, I wanted nothing more than punch the lights out of him. "Goodbye Blaine, _see_ you tomorrow at class. Also you can keep Sam if you want, we're even now. You know what they say, an eye for an eye."

I-oOo-I

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to get in, I suddenly got super busy with some beta reading requests as well but it's finally in. So basically this chapter is one of the key points I had planned for a while, I really hope it fills in the whole drama I promised on the previous chapter (and excuse all the eye puns I added). I'll try to keep updating soon but I promise nothing. Once again thanks to all of you who have reviewed, followed and/or faved the story, it's really what keeps me going.**

**Hope you're enjoying the ride!**


	13. Guide Me

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, all characters belong to their respective owners.**

**I'll like to thank my amazing beta reader, I know he's been busy lately but he still takes the time to check all the stuff that I send him. **

**Hope you're enjoying the story so far!**

**I-oOo-I**

**Sam's POV**

"You'll get better, just remember to stay away from any strong odors for a while." The nurse had been pretty quick on giving out the final diagnosis but I suppose she had the time to come up with something considering I had spent more than half of the consultation passed out on the wooden stretcher.

"Will I need to take any medication?"

"I don't think it's necessary but I would recommend you to eat some sugary treat to get a bit of energy. You where pretty weak a few moments ago."

"Alright, thanks I guess." Walking out sure felt like a shore though, I was still pretty tipsy and everything felt kind of wobbly but I managed to at least reach a clock. Back at McKinley I wasn't thought to read clocks, well at least not the ones that weren't sun clocks, but it didn't take a wise man to know school had been over for quite a while. Hopefully Blaine doesn't mind waiting.

The halls where empty and my footsteps where the only sound I could hear clearly but I still manage to see some classrooms still had lights on. Hopefully Mr. Schuester's classroom was one of them, he might know where's Blaine.

**I-oOo-I**

"I'm sorry Samuel but I haven't seen him since he left the room." Figures, Blaine's not the one to stick around the same place for long, but he isn't one to abandon someone either. At least I hope he isn't. "By any chance would you know if someone took one of the test tubes? One's missing and I've been looking for it like crazy. If I don't find it its price will be deducted from my paycheck."

"Sorry Mr. Schue, I haven't."

"Well guess we both lost something. Good luck finding Blaine, he's probably by the gates waiting for you."

"Thanks Mr. Schue, good luck finding the test tube. If I know anything I'll let you know."

He smiled as I left the room. He's probably right, Blaine's probably already on the carriage waiting outside. Walking there will be the problem though, the school's pretty big of a place and I'm not in the best shape to walk over there right now. Damn sulfur.

Each step felt worse than the one before but at least I was moving. I felt I could fall at any moment and getting real with myself I'll admit was nowhere near the exit but luckily the bathroom was just a few steps away. Maybe washing my face could help getting me a bit more alive, if only for a few seconds. I walked my way through the hall and into the bathroom, I really felt awful having such a hard time moving towards the bathroom but at least I was able to do it without falling on my face.

Once inside I tried to locate the nearest sink but a soft and almost barely hearable sob-like sound kept me from continuing. "Hello?"

The sound of my voice was followed by dead silence, at least until the other voice replied back. "S-Sam?"

"Blaine?" What was he doing here? And more importantly, why was he crying? "I was looking for you! Glad I found you, everything alright?" I walked further into the bathroom as I noticed Blaine sitting on a corner, his head resting on his knees as his face was buried in his hands. "Blaine what's the matter?"

The sobbing stopped as if he was trying to contain himself. "Don't sugarcoat it, please tell me how bad it really is."

"How bad is wha-"

Never in a million years would I imagine seeing the gruesome visage in front of me. Blaine's beautiful face was badly burned, to say the least. The whole area surrounding the eyes and the higher portion of the nose's arch no longer hosted Blaine's fair skin and in its place rested the remaining of corroded skin and some pretty serious looking burns. The part that got to me the most was seeing that his gorgeous caramel colored eyes where no more and on their place laid two dead looking colorless orbs.

"Who did this to you?"

"I ask you a question first, how bad is it?"

"Does it even matter? Some psychopath burned your face Blaine! Can't you see?"

"As a matter of fact, no, I can't see." He's… blind? "Now answer me!"

"It's pretty bad, the burns are all over your eyes and nose." Blaine breathed heavily, I wouldn't be surprised if he went into crying again but he didn't; it was as if he knew all along but just needed confirmation. "Now you answer my question, who did this?"

"Sebastian…"

I was never one to react violently to something but hearing his name just triggered something in me, something that wasn't very nice. "That son of a bitch I'll kill him! Where is he?"

"He's probably off campus by now."

Damn that bastard, is his hate towards Blaine really that strong? Strong enough to lead him into doing this kind of stupid shit? "I don't care where is he, I don't care if I have to break into his fucking home he's going pay for thi-" Shit, my head's getting dizzy again.

"Sam what's going on?"

"I'm just… I'm still a bit dizzy over the whole sulfur incident. I think I need to wash my face."

"Then do so, and stop getting pissed at worthless stuff such as Sebastian. Right now it's a lot more important to have you be as safe a humanly possible, you're the only person I could trust to be my new… eyes."

I honestly felt flattered and honored by Blaine's remark but still as furious as before, how dare that weasel do such a thing to the prince out of all people. "I… I don't really know what to say."

"Just say yes."

**I-oOo-I**

**Blaine's POV**

Everything was hazy, with extreme concentration I could make out the slight silhouette of certain objects or people but it was still not enough. Sam had been a really great guide though, I was able to walk all the way towards what I believe was carriage without stomping into something but I was able to notice the tiredness in his voice. Sam had done the work of two persons while sick, if anything it was him who deserved the special treatment.

Once on the carriage things got a whole lot tenser. "Why did he do it?"

"Sam please, justice will be served when the time comes."

"I don't care about justice, tell me why did he do it!"

"Does it really matters?"

"It does to me."

Sam's voice was pretty firm yet I still knew he said it because he cared about me. "When I was walking you to the nurses office you passed out and you held on to me and I felt on top of you, before I could get up Sebastian had seen it all and thought I was throwing myself at you."

"Seriously? That's how it happened?"

"I know, it sounds just like a badly planned and forced plot point in a story but that's what happened."

"Man… I should have been there…"

"Stop it, you where sick don't take the blame for something you had nothing to do with."

"But I did, if I had been nicer to Sebastian probably none of this would have occurred."

"Probably, but Sebastian's always been unpredictable at best."

"I swear if I had been there it would have been someone else with acid on their face."

"Hey come now, promise me you won't get in trouble over this."

"How can you ask me that Blaine? The bastard blinded you!"

"I know and believe me, if I could have stabbed him that one time I would have done it but there's nothing we can do now."

"Wait, you almost had the chance to kill him before?"

"Yeah that's a story for another time."

"Alright but you owe that one to me." Even if I can't see his expression I'm glad Sam managed to get off topic for a second. I'm not really comfortable with having people worry about me when they can't do nothing about it and hearing how Sam was talking a bit less rushed did seem like a good sign.

"He did told me he didn't want to be with you anymore though, I really hope that's nothing to harsh to listen too."

"Pfft, seriously? As if I would still stand to be with him anyways. That's the best news I've heard in a long time now." Our ride stopped on its track as I heard Sam getting off his seat. "Well that's it for the ride, we're back at the castle."

"Could you do me a favor? When we get inside would you mind just talking me directly into my room? I don't feel like dealing with my parents right now."

I heard Sam sigh; apparently that wasn't part of his plan. "Alright, but as soon as they call us let me do the talking."

"No, trust me Sam, as soon as they call us I'll go there and confront them on my own. If my father knows about this he'll try to blame it all on you."

"How are you so sure?"

"Trust me, I've known the man for a whole life, stuff will get ugly."

**I-oOo-I**

The walk to my room, or rather Sam's walk to my room, was rather interesting. Insisting that it would be a better idea to carry me to my room, bridal style nonetheless, so I could hide my face easily Sam took matter into his own hands and carried me to my chamber. I heard how a couple of maids and servants walked by but luckily no one said a thing and I doubt they were even able to see me. Once we arrived to my room I remembered the small detail that could easily undermine the whole plan.

"Oh my god, poor baby what happened to you!" Rachel's sweet voice shirked as Sam entered the room and I turned her voice's way.

"Hush! Wait until I close the door, attention's the last thing we need." Sam said as I heard him lock the door to my chamber.

"Oh my god, who did this to him?"

"Hey lady calm down, we don't want the whole kingdom to know about this."

"And who exactly are you to talk that way to me?"

"I'm the prince's friend, now lower your voice or I'll shut it for you."

"Sam please, stop. She's just surprised."

"Wait a second, this is Sam?" The astonishment on Rachel's voice kind of startled me.

"What, surprised?" Sam boasted in a cocky tone.

"Actually I am, Blaine made you seem like such a likable and fun person, not the man-ape you're acting like."

"Well Blaine didn't really mention that his girlfriend was such a little bitc-"

"Enough! Both of you, out of my room!" I hate bursting out but if that meant they would stop fighting it was a risk worth taking.

"Fine, but if I run into her and she keeps that attitude I won't be so polite next time."

"You mean you where being polite now? You village people have such a wretched concept of manners."

"Rachel please, I need time to get myself together. Knowing you won't be at each other's throat will make the healing a lot more effective, trust me."

"Alright, just try to get better as fast as possible. And don't worry about yourself, you still look as handsome as ever." I knew she wasn't being completely honest but it still managed to make me crack a smile.

I heard both of them leave the room as the last one to leave closed the door. I'll be honest being a lone brooding wasn't one of my favorite activities but it certainly help me realize some stuff from time to time. The sheer thought of talking to my parents about the whole incident was quite terrifying but it was something that would need to happen so avoiding it wasn't the greatest idea. Also the fact that both Sam and Rachel began on such a rocky start was kind of a bummer for me, if something I wanted them to get along just as well as I got along with them. I really need to stop worrying about stuff that doesn't concern me but that's just who I am.

After a few minutes thinking for a bit I heard the door to my room opening and then closing. "Whoever it is, please I'm not in the mood."

There was no answer. The steps got closer to my bed, they where pretty light steps, possibly female steps? Or maybe it was just a very stealthy male. Whoever it was kept approaching to my position. Oddly enough this time I wasn't frightened or scared about it, while on the castle I'm always safe but still curiosity had me wondering who it was. "Who is this?"

Once again no answer. As the steps got closer I tried to visualize with the limited amount of view I had left whom this figure belonged to but either I was not concentrating enough or the room was just too dim for me to notice. "Sam if you're trying to play a prank on me it's not funny."

It was probably Rachel, the steps where just not heavy enough to belong to Sam and he would have probably cracked up by now. The steps stopped right besides me, I tried to get a better look but it still wasn't good enough. In a matter of seconds I felt the breathing get a bit closer to my face and just before I realized it a pair of lips where being pressed against mine. I had kissed Rachel before and I can confirm this where not her lips. As a matter of fact they where a lot softer and felt a lot thicker, just like I imagined it would be with… "Sam?" The sudden interruption made the mysterious person stop. The sudden sound of quick steps now gave away that whoever that was had just left the room. "Sam…"

**I-oOo-I**

**A/N: Another chapter's here. I enjoyed writing this one but at some points I felt I could have done a better job. Oh well. I also decided to change the rating of the story from T to M because things will get pretty gruesome in further chapters (believe me justice will be served and who knows, maybe I'll get inspired to write some kinky stuff as well?) but anyways I really hope you liked it and I do hope you noticed the small dig I threw at myself within the story (because I really don't take myself too seriously xP). Thanks for your reviews, favorites and follows. They make my day and make this story go on a better direction.**

**Hope you're enjoying the ride!**


	14. Gossip Girl

***DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, all characters belong to their respective owners.**

**A huge thank to my beta reader who checked this and the previous chapter so quickly, if y'all should thank anyone it should be him.**

**I-oOo-I**

**Sam's POV**

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Why on earth would you do such a thing?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean too!"

"Well it's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"How was I supposed to know he would react that way?"

"Then why risk it on the first place? Damn it Tina, what the hell am I supposed to do now?" It all happened way too fast. As soon as Lady McBitch and I left Blaine's chamber per his request I went directly to my room. At merely twenty or so minutes I have this lunatic telling me she kissed Blaine and to make things worse he called out my name. He probably thinks I'm one of those crazy stackers who take advantage of the wounded. "The easy solution, at least for me, would be to just tell the truth."

"No, no, no! Please I beg of you, I can't loose my job. My family needs the money!"

"You'll be lucky if you only loose your job, you kissed the prince for crying out loud! If I had to guess I would assume you could get locked up on the dungeons for the rest of your days, or maybe get beheaded with the next pack of criminals in a public execution."

I'll admit I wasn't really going to tell on her, I couldn't really live with the guilt of knowing I screwed someone over but damn it was it hard to come up with a solution, if anything I was finding scaring Tina slightly amusing but as always everything's fun and games until someone starts crying. "Please Sam, I don't want to die! It was just an impulse, I wasn't thinking clearly!"

"Alright, alright. I won't tell on you, but you'll need to help me come up with a solution. Imagine if Blaine tells someone else about this? Or worse, imagine if his stupid fiancée knows, she'll probably kill me in my sleep."

Tina tried to gain control and wiped the tears off her eyes. "Thanks Sam, I a-aprreciate it."

"Don't get to comfortable though, we need to come up with an excuse for this if we both want to get out of this alive." Tina nodded; she was still trying to get over the scare. "But first off, why did you kiss him?"

She began to look nervous again, luckily this time there where no tears. "I've been working here for a few months now and to be honest with you… I've developed a crush on the prince. He's always been so nice to me and when I heard he got hurt and blinded it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give back all of the affection he had given me while at the same time not get busted."

"Well I'm sure getting me involved wasn't part of your clever plan, was it?" Tina shook her head. "But wait, you said you heard he got hurt? How could you do that? We didn't tell anyone about it?"

Tina once again looked nervous but this time she looked more ashamed than preoccupied. "I… I eavesdropped through the door. Once I hear Lady Rachel yelling curiosity took the best of me."

"You know, back at McKinley eavesdroppers got their ears sliced off…" Tina's skin turned pale and she placed both her hands over her ears. "Luckily for you we're not there."

"Please don't hate me for this, believe you where the last person I would have wanted to drag to this."

"Considering you went ahead and kissed an engaged man you make it pretty hard for anyone to feel sympathy for you."

Tina once again gave me a sad look. "Don't you know how hard it is to love someone but don't have that feeling returned back?"

I do, if you only knew. "Well life isn't fair, deal with it. Now help me think on an excuse before this gets out of hand."

**I-oOo-I**

Brainstorming took a lot more than I expected it but on the bright side I got to know Tina a lot more. While the first few times I ran into her I thought she was a klutz it appears it was all an act. She's actually one of the smartest persons I've talked with. All this time she pretended she didn't knew the castle's rooms, which she actually memorized in five days, just to run into Blaine, even if that meant interrupting him from time to time. She also confessed me she had a reputation amongst the maids as the local gossip girl, not because she enjoyed the gossips themselves but because she actually had an uncannily great memory.

"Are you sure that's the best way to put it?"

"Trust me, Blaine's not one to punish anyone besides it was kind of an honest mistake."

"But you said his fiancée wasn't as forgiving."

"To be honest I don't know but I'll do all in my power to keep that from her, as long as you help me out with what I told you."

"Alright, I'll do my best but please try to keep everything as low profile as possible."

"You have my word."

Tina's nervous smile was probably the expression I've seen her do the most, well apart from the embarrassed one. Still Blaine was right, she's a good girl and she doesn't deserve half the stuff that's happening even if she brought it to herself. We both walked out and gave each other an encouraging look before parting ways. We're not friends but if she does her part of the bargain I'm pretty sure we could become more than just allies.

Still as much as I wanted her out of my way when she told me what she did I couldn't help but want her, or anyone really, to come with me. The whole walk to Blaine's room was nothing but me thinking of different situations and outcomes, in some Blaine was as calm as ever but in others he goes berserk and either Tina or I suffer the consequences. The thought of it alone made me sick. I continued walking until I ran into Blaine's door. It took me a few minutes to actually arm myself with courage and knock.

"Who is it?"

"Hey it's me, Sam. May I come in?"

He took a few seconds to answer back, I don't blame him. Damn, I wouldn't even need to be here explaining myself if it hadn't been for Tina but I gave her my word. "Sure, just close the door once you're inside."

His response was oddly calm; maybe the better scenario was the one that would occur? As I entered the room I closed the door behind me and walked towards Blaine's bed where he laid facing the celling as if he was thinking about something.

"Um… hi, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"So do I, would you mind if I start?"

Darn it, that was never a good sign but might as well let him start, don't want to get in his bad side. "Sure, if it works better for you go ahead, I'm all ears."

"I know you didn't kiss me and while I have a couple of suspects I won't say names or do anything about it." That was music to my ears, I really don't know what to think about it but what I'm sure is that at least that's a weight off my back. "But there's something I realized, you know how they say that when you kiss someone you actually make a connection with you can feel sparks and a whole other things?"

"Umm, sure I've heard some people say that before. Haven't experienced it myself but I've heard it alright."

Blaine rose and from his laid position and now sat on top of his bed. He didn't really tried looking my way. "Well I haven't experienced it myself either. While at first I thought the lips I felt a while ago where yours I know for a fact it wasn't you, the steps where too light to belong to you and the breathing seemed rushed and nervous, that while understandable, it didn't really gave me your vibe."

"I appreciate the concern but, what does this have to do with anything?"

Blaine sighed, his tone had remained serious since the moment I walked in and to be honest it was quite unsettling but seeing him sighing was a sign he was still himself, if that makes any sense. "This will sound completely ridiculous almost on the line of the absurd but I actually…" Blaine wasn't able to finish, he chuckled a bit, quite nervously if I say so myself. "I actually thought for a second about us being more than just friends and to be honest the idea didn't seem like a horrible one."

Alright, I wasn't expecting this at all. "You mean you thought we…?"

"I know it's a pretty silly idea, but where I'm trying to get is, I've never really kissed a boy before and after giving more thought to the idea of "_us_" it occurred to me that you might offer to be my first one."

"Blaine… I'm flattered really, and I would love to help but there's a little something. It might sound like a half-assed made-up excuse but I just… it's just too soon. Besides, trying these things with friends just makes further situations a bit more awkward. Believe me, I used to date my best friend at McKinley and after the break-up it took more time than I can count for us to get things to be almost as they where before it happened."

I really hate myself for doing this but it's true. If anything Blaine's the only family I have left and I don't want to get things between us to be awkward. Blaine still looked as calm as ever but I could feel something uneasy about him. "Sure, it was just a silly idea to begin with."

"Trust me Blaine it's for the better."

**I-oOo-I**

**A/N: I'll be honest, I think this last two chapters could have been better. Kind of a shorter one but still good enough to showcase and build up Tina's character a bit more as well as to keep things a bit less tense (in a way). I'm sorry if the story has been feeling slow but it's all for narrative purposes (I think) but the big news for this chapter is the fact that it will be the last one before a small hiatus (that's why I decided to get this two back to back). I'll try to get back as soon as it's humanly possible but as of now enjoy these two chapters. And for those waiting for the justice I teased at on the previous chapter it will happen sooner than what you think (it was supposed to start somewhere here but I decided to leave this as a build-up chapter). Once again, thanks everyone for their support and kind words either here or on Tumblr, you have no idea how much it means!**

**Hope you're enjoying the ride!**


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